Face Your Inner Demons
by Yugioh13
Summary: After failing out of college, Henry's niece, Jane, is surprised to discover that her uncle was a cartoonist for Joey Drew. Now with this new information, she travels to the abandoned studio to find out what other secrets are hidden inside. What will happen when she comes face to face with the demonized cartoon, Bendy? Adventure? Fear? A budding romance with the inky demon?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! Sooooo yes, I went down the inky hole that leads to the crazy fandom of Bendy fanfiction. I've been a huge fan since I saw some of my favorite gamers play the first chapter so long ago and was intrigued by the idea of the old cartoons having a dark side. The story line has me guessing constantly and I love looking into theories about how this game will end! I love Bendy and the other characters that hide throughout the studio!**

 **Anyways, I came up with this idea right after chapter 4 was released. I actually spent most of my work day with paper at my desk, jotting down quick notes about the story and it expanded from there! I hope to do well with this story and I hope that you enjoy it! Okay, so not everything is going to follow the game story line. Some might follow the story, but not all of it. Beware of spoilers if you're not caught up! Plus, we don't know what holds for chapter 5 so the ending could be different depending on how things go! It might change the ending I have chosen, but we'll see!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review! I want to know how I'm doing on this! This is my first BATIM fic and I'm worried that I'm not doing well. Please let me know! This is a little out of my comfort zone since I'm trying something with a few darker tones.** **I'm keeping the title the way it is now, but I'm not sure if I'll change it. I hope you enjoy this story and if you have any helpful tips for me, I appreciate hearing them.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bendy and the Ink Machine. That belongs to The Meatly! I only own my OC, Jane!**

* * *

"Gooooood afternoon everyone!" the energetic radio talk show guy greeted cheerfully over the sound waves. "The time is now 3:05 and the sun is shining brightly! That means, yep, you guessed it! Summer is almost here! That means school is letting out soon and some of you are graduating high school and college! Well for all of you graduates out there, here's a song to celebrate those memories!"

As soon as the first few bars of some cliché song came on the radio, the one that was actually played at her own high school graduation, the brunette driving groaned loudly before punching in the button that turned the music system off. "Heard that song about a million times….and I don't need to hear it a million and one more. Stupid song…"

Once it was quiet, she could hear the road roaring beneath her old beat up pick-up truck as she drove down the long highway, shifting around the various cars around her.

A sigh left her lips before her pink tongue swept across them. "I would be graduating if I didn't give up half my life and school time for some complete and total…" She stopped herself as her hands tightened around the steering wheel. "Come on, Jane. Don't think about him. Just focus on going home." Her voice turned somber. "Back to your useless life...where you're just as invisible as you were at school."

Her thoughts drifted back to the days when she would sit around the house, sketchbook in her lap, while her parents would invite friends over to have drinks and socialize, the thing that Jane dreaded. Their friends would occasionally glance into the living room where she'd sit by the window, since it was the best place for natural sunlight. Then they would ask her parents why she wasn't out on the town with her friends at the bar or on a date with a handsome man. Jane would snort to herself and think about the friends that didn't really exist or the boyfriend that would just be fictional.

It wasn't that she didn't have any friends. She had a few acquaintances that she spoke to from time to time, but she didn't really like to go out like they did. Also, dating wasn't really her strong suit. At least in high school.

Then of course, her parents would shake their heads and try to make up some story about why Jane never wanted to go out. But she knew better than that. Jane knew that her parents were always disappointed with how her life turned out. A distant introvert who did nothing but sketch and study. Shouldn't they be proud of someone who did well in school? Who always brought home straight A's and never got in trouble? No, of course not. All they wanted was for their daughter to be 'normal'. What even was that? What was normal? Apparently, it wasn't her.

Once she graduated high school and went off to college, it felt like a slight weight was lifted from her. No more judgmental looks from her parents and no strange glances from her old classmates. Going to a college in another state meant that she could start all over! A new life, new adventures, and prospects!

Right?

Well...for awhile it was true...but then there was...

*RING*

The shrill ring of her cell phone began buzzing from the middle console broke Jane away from her past thoughts. Her eyes flickered down to the small screen and nearly turned it off, to focus on her driving and to avoid anyone that she dreaded to hear from. However, when the name flashed on the screen, Jane quickly turned off at the nearest exit and pulled over at the gas station that sat on top of the exit ramp.

Thankfully, she managed to answer the phone on the last ring. "Hello?"

There was a pause.

"Hey Kid." a male voice softly greeted, making Jane sigh and smile at the sound of his voice.

"Hey, Uncle Henry."

"I saw your message and I wanted to call you back. Sorry about that, I was out at the grocery store and didn't hear my phone ring. Is everything okay?" he asked worriedly, much more concerned than her parents were.

Jane bit her lower lip before dragging a hand over her face, tears beginning to prick at her eyes. "Well...not really. I just...I don't know what to do."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from falling apart right there in the parking lot. "Well...that's the thing..." Through the watery feeling in her eyes, they landed on the miles sign and saw how close she was. "Uh...I actually took a detour on my way...and well..."

Her uncle chuckled slightly. "Soooo what you're saying is, that I need to open up the guest bedroom and have dinner ready soon."

A wry smile appeared on her lips. "Uh...yeah. Is that okay? I know it's last second, but I just...I can't..."

Henry cut her off before she could ramble anymore. "It's fine, Kid. Just come on by the house and I'll be there. Just be careful."

Jane relaxed in her car, cradling the small device against her cheek. "Thanks, I'll see you soon."

* * *

About a half hour later, she pulled into the driveway of a small two story brick house with a dark rooftop. This place hadn't changed a bit at all. Still had the small stone birdbath that was never fixed after Jane had crashed her bike into it one summer, knocking the bowl off and shattering a small piece off the edge. She could still remember how she cried and told her uncle how sorry she was, but he just laughed and called the accident an 'improvement'.

She smiled at the memory as she climbed up the stairs to the house, duffel bag in hand. She always loved coming here to visit her uncle during the summer and getting to stay up late watching cartoons with him. Her parents didn't really care for them and said that she needed to grow up, but Jane always had a soft spot for the hilarious black and white cartoons that graced the television screen. Henry would always tell her that she could do whatever she wanted, within reason of course.

Her finger touched the doorbell, causing the ring to echo through the house before her. A few moments passed and then a dark figure appeared in the window.

The door opened, revealing an older gentleman, probably about late thirties or early forties. He was a taller man with a big build, light brown hair with silver streaks that were beginning to appear on his temples due to age, a few wrinkles across the forehead and a few crinkles in the corners of his eyes. A smile broke across his face, creating a few more wrinkles.

"Hey Kid."

So much emotion bubbled inside of Jane as she smiled weakly before practically jumping into his arms, hugging him tightly.

It took a moment for Henry to finally wrap his limbs around her, squeezing tightly as she began to shake. "Hey hey, it's...it's okay..."

The tears from earlier were now rolling down her cheeks as she buried her face into his arm. "I just don't know...what to do..." her meek voice sobbed.

Henry shut the door behind her before leading her further inside. "Come on, let's get you something to drink."

It took a few minutes for Jane to calm herself and for Henry to sit her down with a glass of water. Now they were sitting side by side on the couch, Jane wrapped up in a blanket while the news played quietly on the television before them. Neither of them really watched it anyways, but it was just for some background sound to help the tense moment.

"So...what exactly happened?" Henry asked his niece, sipping down a glass of ice tea. "Your message earlier...is it really true?"

She sniffled before taking a small sip of water, clutching the glass in her shaky fingers. "Yeah um...I...I failed." she whispered before clearing her throat. "I can't believe this is happening to me. I just...I don't know what to do."

"You'll figure something out." he assured her. "You just need to take a step back from all of this and relax."

At least he was trying to give her some advice. If it were her parents, they would just tell her what a failure she was and that it was all her fault. Some parental guidance they were...

"It's kind of hard. Especially when you're about to go home and tell your parents why I didn't invite them to graduation. That's all they were expecting to see in the mail or even receive a happy phone call."

Henry sat forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "What exactly happened? You were doing so well the last I heard."

A bitter and dry laugh left her lips. "Yeah...that was a complete lie." He frowned at her tone before Jane went on. "I've been failing for the past year. I didn't tell anyone because I was embarrassed. Especially after all the stuff my parents said about being proud of me for amounting to something for the first thing in my life." Another dry laugh rumbled through her chest. "As if I wasn't trying already."

"Why didn't you tell me? I would've driven down there and tried to help you study." He shrugged as a playful smile appeared. "Then we could've...I don't know, gone to a toga party or whatever you kids do these days at college."

She smiled then, weakly, but it was a smile. "I bet we would've had a blast and made everyone else jealous."

Jane wouldn't have cared in the least bit to have Uncle Henry there with her. If anyone was a good friend to her, it was Henry. Always there to make her smile and to help pick up the pieces of her broken heart. At least...she wished that he was there for the last part.

Jane sighed heavily as she took another drink. "They weren't that fun at all." Especially the ones she was forced to go to.

His eyebrows rose up, his forehead stretching up, making the wrinkles stretch out. "You went to parties? What happened to..." he cleared his throat before making his voice feminine. "I will never go to those lame parties that only-"

Jane giggled at her uncle's impression and gently smacked his arm. "I don't sound like that. Not even close."

"Well...I tried at least." Henry teased, bumping her leg that was hidden away under the blanket.

The brunette female sighed, taking another sip. "Anyways, one thing led to another...and well...I found myself getting behind in my studies."

Henry frowned, a crease crossing his brow. "Jane, is there something you're not telling me?" he asked, watching his niece turn away, avoiding eye contact. "Look, I know I might not be your mom or your girlfriends, but I am still here for you."

She gave him a weak smile. "I know you are. I just...was with someone and-"

"Did he hurt you?" he cut her off, concern crossing his face.

Jane shook her head quickly. "No no...not physically. Thank goodness." Then she paused. "He just...was...a little controlling. So studying was more like a second part in my life. But I broke things off with him and I went my own way."

Deep down, she wished that it was that easy.

His hand found hers and squeezed. "Well I'm glad that you finally kicked him to the curb. You were smart enough to leave him and I'm proud of you. Degree or not, you're still one of the smartest people I know."

She leaned over to hug her uncle. "Thanks. Just don't know what Mom and Dad are going to say when I tell them that reason..." she mumbled into his shoulder. "Doubt they'll care at all..."

"Well despite what they think..." he said softly, brushing the hair away from her face. "I'll still be here if you need someone."

She nodded, before hugging him again. Jane could always depend on her uncle Henry.

When he pulled away, he sighed. "What do you say to some take out? I can order Chinese and we can watch a few movies. Might help take your mind off of things."

Jane smiled a little bigger. "Does that mean I can pick?"

Her uncle laughed before rubbing her head. "Of course. As long as you give me your egg roll."

Shaking her head, she knew she'd lose that argument. "Fine. You can have it. But don't hog all the lo mein."

Henry's laughter died as he went into the other room to call in dinner.

Jane sighed in content as she rested against the couch. Henry was the best uncle ever! A nice comfy house, the usual take out to eat, decent television to watch, and of course a cozy little house that didn't have any drama. She could practically live here if Henry allowed her. Heck, she'd ask him if she could move in tonight. However, it probably wasn't the right timing. Jane still had to go home and face her parents. But...if things don't work out there and they kick her out, she could always come back to live with Henry. Yeah...that would be a silver lining for her.

Her uncle returned a few moments later. "Hey, turns out that they can't make any deliveries tonight. Looks like I'm going to have to go and pick it up myself tonight. Are you okay here by yourself?"

Jane nodded and giggled. "I'll be fine, Uncle Henry. I'm twenty-six. I'm a big girl now and I doubt any monsters are going to attack me."

He sighed, shaking his head as he put on a pair of shoes. "Those monsters could never catch you. Even if you had to have me scare them off whenever you'd stay over."

"Hey! I was six and there was a closet monster!" she shouted back, remembering how she used to hide under the covers when she slept in order to avoid the 'monsters' that tried to eat her.

Henry laughed as he opened the door to leave. "Well let's hope those monsters don't decide to come in and eat you. I'll be back in a little bit."

When the sound of the door closing echoed back to her, Jane slowly got up from the couch and decided to unpack her things. Since she was staying in the guest room, she figured that she could relax in her old room for a bit.

It had been a few years since she had stayed at Henry's. Anytime when her parents would decide to go out of town or they didn't really want to put up with their daughter's introverted ways, they sent her to stay with Henry. Not that Jane minded at all. In fact, it was the one thing that Jane enjoyed just as much as her art work.

Henry understood her in more ways than her parents ever did. Actually, he was the one who got her into sketching in the first place. When she was little, Jane would just sit at the back of the classroom or on a bench at the playground and just stare at the things around her. She didn't really speak and she refused to go and play with the others. It was a very worrying time for her parents. They didn't know what to do about their own daughter and the teachers were just as puzzled.

Then one day, when Henry came by for a visit, he had a present for Jane. A large sketchbook with a few colored pencils. At first, Jane stared at the pad of paper with curiosity, but still never touched it. But then when Henry grabbed a pencil, he showed her a quick sketch of a cartoon character; one that she had seen grace the television several times as a child. Then...a small smile broke across Jane's face and she took the pencil from Henry and the rest was history.

She sketched everything that she saw until the book was filled. From then on, she would buy sketchbooks all the time with her allowance. To Jane, it was her true calling...her passion. But to others...it was a peculiar behavior. Even if her family was happy to see their daughter do something, it was still odd. Even her classmates thought the same thing whenever they would see her hiding under a tree with the sketchbook balanced on her lap as she drew birds up in the treetops.

Jane didn't like the comments others would make about her being strange. She was just doing what she loved. What was wrong with that? Nothing! But...why did they always think of her as a strange creature instead of a human being? She tried to ignore the whispers and nasty words, but they always came back to find her whenever she was weak. But...despite all of the hurtful things people said...there was always one person she could go to. And that was Henry.

At least...for awhile it was just Henry...

Jane bit her lower lip as she climbed the stairs, shaking herself away from those bitter thoughts. "Stop thinking about him, Jane." she whispered to herself. "He's officially out of your life now."

Easier said than done.

* * *

It didn't take Jane too long to unpack all of her necessities. She only brought a few things into the house since most of her dorm was still in the car. If she got the okay from Henry, then she would get to move everything into the guest room. But...she still had to figure what she was going to do next. The last thing that she wanted to do was go home to face her family. Not now.

She took a look around the room and smiled. All of her things from her childhood were spread across the room, even the pictures that she left at here whenever she would draw something for Henry. Drawings of the animals that sat on the lawn when she would sit on the porch, silly cartoon drawings, and of course a few...not so perfect...pictures of Henry. It made Jane happy and relieved that Henry didn't throw anything away. He was proud of his niece and planned on making the room a gallery when she was little.

Running a hand through her hair, Jane took one last look around her room before she left to go back downstairs. "One thing down...and a bunch of other things to figure out still..." she grumbled as she made her way to the kitchen. "Gotta figure out how to break the news."

As she searched the fridge, she began to think of a script of how things would go. "Hey Mom and Dad, guess what? I failed out of my degree! What's that? I'm being kicked out and I'm a disgrace to family? Fantastic!" Her eyes perused the contents and landed on a can of soda. At least Henry kept decent drinks in the fridge. Most people in this situation would enjoy a glass of wine or some tea, but Jane didn't find either of them appealing.

Kicking the door the door to the fridge shut, she dragged herself into a chair at the small dining table near the corner where there were several pieces of mail piled up. As she sat there, sipping from the cold can, her eyes scanned over the pieces of mail that sat there in a messy pile. The usual things were there; bills for electric services, a few junkie ads for scams, and several coupons for local stores.

Just when her eyes were about to turn away, a small yellowish envelope stood out. The top had been torn open and the contents were peeking out. Normally, Jane respected someone's privacy, but she couldn't help the curiosity creeping through her veins. She had to know what this was. Why did it stand out among the rest?

Carefully, she pulled the envelope out from under all of the mail and held it up. The envelope was made out of old parchment paper and felt weathered in her fingers. Like the envelope had been hidden away for a long time and then was probably discovered several years later to be used. When she flipped it over to see who it was from, her heart nearly jumped up into her throat.

In the left hand corner, she spied the familiar logo of a cartoon character that she grew up watching. A small inky black devil with a wide grin on his face. Next to it was the well known name that she had remembered for most of her childhood. ' _Joey Drew Studios'._

And in the middle of the envelope was Henry's name and address.

Jane almost didn't believe her eyes. Did Henry know Joey Drew? Or was this just some prank? It had to be a prank! How would the famous cartoonist of so many well known cartoons know her uncle? Henry wasn't really the most well established person. He acted more like a hermit. Why would Joey send **_him_** a letter?

Now that her curiosity was peaked, she couldn't help but take the paper out and opened the letter.

 _Dear Henry,_

 _It seems like a lifetime since we worked on cartoons together. Thirty years really slips away, doesn't it? If you're back in town, come visit the old workshop. There's something I need to show you._

 _Your Best Pal, Joey Drew._

* * *

 **And that's the end of chapter 1! Hope it sounded like a good start. Joey Drew Studios will be coming soon to this! Could be two chapters or who knows, maybe I'll include it in the next one. It all depends! Don't worry, Bendy will be here soon! ^_^**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter to this new story! I hope I do this right. Let me know what you think about the start! Do you have any suggestions? Let me know! Leave a review or PM me! I always try to reply! Anyways, there is so much more to this story and I can't wait to share it all! Thanks everyone!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two is here! I got really excited over the reception that I was receiving after the first few days of chapter one being out so I quickly started on this new one! 5,000 words worth! I'm so happy to hear that people are liking what I've written so far! I want to do this story right and I want to be able to do Bendy right. It'll be a real challenge when I get to that point and I'm thinking about plot points all the time (like literally at work or out on the town lol).**

 **Anyways, thank you everyone for being patient while I get chapter two done! Currently working on three as well right now and I can't wait! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and added me on favorites and alerts! It made me so thrilled to see the messages pop up! Please let me know what you think or if you have any useful tips for me. It's also a good confidence boost that helps me when I'm writing! Thanks guys, enjoy! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bendy and the Ink Machine. That belongs to the Meatly! I only own my OC, Jane.**

* * *

 **Review Responses: Wow! I wasn't expecting all of those responses in the first day! It made me really excited to hear from you guys! Seriously, you guys are amazing! ^_^ And like I said before, I always try to reply to your reviews and questions.**

 **SpringBorn: Thank you! Yay! I'm glad you liked how I portrayed them! And yes, they are the worst parents ever.**

 **TheAmazingAuthoress: Yay! That makes me so happy to hear this! Also, I'm glad that I'm describing Jane right. I have a few friends who are introverted and some of my students act the same way. I just let them have their space if they need it. Thanks for letting me know that I was on the right track.**

 **Majestic Yo Kai Fauntleroy: I'm still working on the details of Bendy and who he really is. Sadly, I'm not going to spoil it for now. I need that reveal for later chapters. But hopefully it will make sense to you. Thanks for the question! :)**

 **Dancing-Ink-Demon: Awww thank you! I'm glad you liked it! (by the way, love the name and the pic. Long live Bendy! lol)**

* * *

After rereading over the letter for about the twentieth time, Jane slumped back into the chair, completely in shock. Henry knew Joey Drew? Joey Drew, the famous cartoonist, knew her uncle? They were friends?!

Her head was swimming with so many questions and theories at this point. Was this a dream? No, Jane would remember falling asleep. Besides, she could feel her head throbbing with all of this information she discovered. Nope, it wasn't a dream.

Why didn't Henry tell her? Was this supposed to be some big secret? Didn't he trust his niece? Did her parents know? Why didn't they...oh yeah, they were selfish and didn't really care about what she knew or wanted.

The letter lay on the table while she gently massaged her temples. "This was the last thing I needed on my mind. Suddenly my uncle is friends with one of the most well known cartoonists in the world. How...how does this even..." she groaned deeply to herself, dragging her hands down her cheeks. "Calm down, Jane. This isn't much of a big deal. Just ask Henry about this and get some answers. Maybe it's just some random joke and it's a fake letter."

The back door opened and Henry stumbled inside, bags of food nearly falling over. "I think I got too much! Can I get some help before I destroy it all?"

Jane quickly shot up from her seat to help him unload everything onto the counter. "What did you do? Buy everything on the menu?" she managed to laugh, catching a heavy bag that threatened to fall off off the edge.

"Well...I wasn't sure what you liked these days, so I got just got about everything that you used to enjoy as a kid. Well...a smaller kid." he corrected, earning a smirk from Jane. "And that means, tons of leftovers for later. Besides, if you spend the night, what are you going to eat tomorrow?"

"True." she nodded, grabbing the box of rice. "This is better than eating gross cafeteria food."

"College food not that great?" he asked, digging out the containers with noodles and egg rolls. "Thought they were known for the food."

Jane snorted. "Yeah, pretty sure that's a lie they use to get students to come there. Food was absolutely disgusting." She shuddered at the thought of their chicken stir fry where the rice was so dry and how it stuck together while the chicken was always over cooked to the point where it was too hard to eat. Even the soy sauce was bitter.

"Well not to worry, The Paper Dragon makes excellent food. It's probably much better than anything you've ever eaten. _**In your life**_!" he emphasized loudly with a laugh.

Jane smiled at his excitement, but there was a slight hesitance in her face that made his laughter fade.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Nothing's wrong." she lied, moving over to the table to avoid looking at him. "Just happy that you're excited about the food."

There was silence for a moment before Henry came up behind her. "Are you okay? Did something happen while I was gone?"

Jane kept quiet, trying to devise a way to ask her uncle about the letter. "No no...it's just well...I..."

There was another pause before his eyes widened and a small gasp left his lips. "Oh..."

She stole a glance over her shoulder to see Henry staring down at the letter that was lay on the table completely open. Well...that was easy.

* * *

"So...you know..." Henry sighed finally after the long fifteen minute silence since they began eating. It wasn't really normal for Henry to be so quiet around her, but it was a little weird that he stayed silent for this long. He helped her get dinner started and made sure that each of them got an equal helping. Then they just started eating. Not a word was spoken or a joke was made about how Henry managed to immediately spill something on himself.

Jane stabbed the pile of noodles with her fork. "Is the letter real?"

Henry's eyes cast down at his plate. "Yeah...it's real."

Pursing her lips, she slowly nodded. "Sooooo...you know Joey Drew."

"Yep."

"The famous cartoonist."

He bit his lower lip for a moment before releasing it. "Yeah."

"And you're friends?"

A shoulder shrug this time. "Used to be."

"Used to be?" she questioned, stuffing a clump of rice past her lips. "Why's that?"

Another shrug. "Things change."

"Thirty years?"

A nod. "Yeah."

After a moment, Jane set her fork down before leaning forward on the table. "Soooo...can I at least know the story? I mean, what's going to hurt? I mean, it's not like I'm going to call the local papers and spread the word around the world. Heck, I won't even post it online." Not that she really used social media that much. In fact, she was avoiding it.

Henry sighed exasperatedly. "Fine...just don't tell anyone. Especially your parents."

"Don't worry, they don't listen to me most of the time anyways." she promised before resting her elbows on the table, forgetting all about table manners. Then she perched her chin up on her wrists. "Come on, tell me. It'll be the ultimate bedtime story."

Finally lifting his head, his eyes scanned over her. "You're not in your pajamas."

"I can always go and change. My pajamas are right upstairs." she suggested, pointing to the stairs, a grin creeping onto her face.

Henry's lips quirked. "Nah, you don't have to. Unless...you want to."

After a few minutes and a very sore and stubbed toe later, Jane was back down at the table, wearing her pajamas; mainly because she could do whatever she wanted. Nobody would judge her here and Henry always found her goofy. A pair of red and black plaid pants and a baggy grey shirt that had a picture of a sleeping cat with the caption "I love Cat Naps".

Henry twirled a few noodles around on his fork before he began. "Well...Joey and I were best friends in college. We were both in business and I was taking art classes on the side. After graduation, the two of us rented out an old apartment and became roommates for awhile." His hand smoothed over his hair. "We had small jobs at the local newspaper. He wrote articles and I did a few cartoons. Things seemed pretty down for awhile since we weren't making too much. But then, my cartoons were beginning to become a little popular and suddenly Joey had the great idea to start publishing my animations."

"And thus...Joey Drew Studios became a thing." Jane finished for him.

A wry smile appeared on his lips. "Yeah, well...not at first. It had a different name." Then he let out a short laugh. "Inky Brothers studios."

A laugh bubbled in her chest. "Seriously? That's all you could come up with?"

He shrugged. "Hey, that's all we could think of at the time. We were amateurs and we didn't really know what we were doing." Taking a bite from his pork dumplings, he went on. "Anyways, so we didn't really have that much success for the first year. Our studio was in our little apartment for a couple of years. I created a few random cartoons and a couple of them were popular. But...it just wasn't working."

"So what did you do?"

"Well...we were nearly broke and almost shut things down." When he took a sip of water, he met her gaze. "Then one day, I came up with the idea that took things to another level. That was the day...I created the Adventures of Bendy the Dancing Demon."

Jane's jaw dropped in shock. "What?!"

Henry chuckled, nodding his head slowly. "Yep."

"You..." she started as her mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to comprehend the information she was just given. "You...created...Bendy the Dancing Demon?"

His lips curled back, revealing a wide toothy grin. "Yeah, yeah I did."

Jane was nearly losing her mind. Her uncle. Her slightly timid uncle who lived in a tiny house in the middle of town, created one of the most famous cartoons! The cartoon that she grew up watching all the time as a child! How did she not know that?! Why didn't he ever talk about it?! Shouldn't he be proud of creating Bendy and the crew?!

"I...I...I'm completely speechless!" she gasped when she tried to calm her nerves, but wasn't succeeding. "How could you keep this away for so long! I mean, do my parents know?"

He nodded slowly, hiding his face behind his glass as he took a very long drink.

Of course, everyone knew this amazing secret except for her. Why was life so cruel?

That explains why he was so good at drawing. She could remember Henry drawing Bendy on that sketchpad that he gave her as a child. How did she not put the pieces together so long ago?

Oh yeah...she was five.

"I can't believe you never told me." she finally said after the long silent pause. "Me...of all people..."

He frowned when she said that. "Look...I'm sorry I never told you. I just...I kind of wanted to push that side of my life away."

Jane stuffed a forkful of rice and chicken into her mouth before trying to speak. "But...why...why would you?"

His fork stabbed into his food, a little harder than necessary. "Thirty years ago...I would've been overjoyed and I would probably be introducing myself as the man who created Bendy. But...that was someone else's job."

Her brows knit together in confusion while she swallowed down her food. "What does that mean?"

Henry gently pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut at the same time. "After Joey and I became well known, he...changed the name of our business. To this day, I'm still not sure how the name suddenly changed. But what I do remember was the day when Joey took the credit for creating everything. Bendy included. Suddenly, his name was on the studio and he was the 'animating extraordinaire'. Only thing was, he couldn't create his way out of a paper bag."

As she continued to eat, her brain slowly put the pieces together. "So...Joey let the fame go to his head and he started taking all the credit."

A long sigh escaped his lungs. "Yep...I never got the credit for creating most of Bendy's world. Even when we started hiring other animators when we expanded, he took credit for everything. I mean, our names were mentioned in the credits after an episode, but nobody really paid attention. The public just believed that Joey came up with everything."

"Then why did you stay with him? Honestly, if it were me, I would've left a long time ago."

He shrugged in response, slumping back into his seat. "Well...I think part of it was because of guilt. About five years after we started things, Joey suddenly became sick. Lost the ability to walk and was bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. I felt bad for him and I ended up staying. I mean, he was my friend."

I had almost forgotten about Joey Drew's sudden illness. Shocked the world when it happened.

"I guess the other reason why I didn't leave was because I just liked what I did. Getting to paid to animate. Made a couple of friends there, but in the end...I was slowly losing my best friend." His grip of the glass was tightening. "After he was bound to that chair, Joey was becoming more demanding...colder...arrogant. He made people stay later than normal and most of those people barely got to see their own families."

Jane frowned. "That's terrible."

"Yeah, I even had a girlfriend for awhile and she was getting really worried about my absence. In the end, I'd had enough and told Joey that I was leaving. He begged for me to stay, but...the damage was done. I was finished at the studio and I walked away without turning back." He sighed again, taking another long drink. "When I left, there wasn't much of a life to go back to. My ex, Linda, left me and kicked me out of her house. I didn't have anywhere to go and I wasn't sure what to do."

"So what _**did**_ you do?" she inquired, wondering how anyone with that kind of life could go on.

"Well...I begged your parents if I could spend a few weeks there until I found a place to stay. They weren't married yet and they had a couch for me to sleep on. I ended up staying there for about a year before I managed to find a small job at a local grocery store. Then I managed to find this place and well...three years later, I suddenly had a niece to look after."

This made a smile appear on her lips. "And then you had another person to pass the pen to."

"Yeah, and you really took after me."

"So I'm guessing that Dad wasn't creative like you were?"

Henry laughed, shaking his head. "No of course not! Your dad was more into crunching numbers and looking at old Playboy magazines."

Just the idea of her dad looking at perverted magazines nearly made her gag. "Ewww...I didn't need to know about that."

"Sorry." he mumbled, a light chuckle leaving his lips. "Your dad found it annoying. Wasn't into art and made fun of me. That was...until we opened the studio. When I came home, your dad was a little nicer to me, but still didn't like me teaching you about art."

"Well that explains a lot." Jane grumbled, eating a little more of her chicken.

"So yeah, that's my crazy past."

Jane was still surprised by this new information. Her uncle just became even cooler than he already was.

But...there was still one thing that remained. "Soooo...what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, twirling a few noodles.

"What are you going to do about Joey's invite?"

Henry nearly choked on his food while he began beating on his chest. Finally, when he was able to breathe again, he stared at Jane, trying to catch his breath. "A-are you...serious?"

"What? I mean, are you going to meet up with your old friend?"

"You have to be joking." he coughed a few times before continuing. "Why should I go...meet up with my so-called friend who ruined my career and nearly destroyed my life?"

Jane shrugged, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Uh...I don't know. Maybe he just wants to meet with you to make up for everything."

Henry let out a loud dry laugh. "That's a good one. Joey has no remorseful bone in his body. He stole my ideas and ran those workers into the ground. Heck, he sunk the whole studio into the ground."

Jane's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "What?"

Henry ran a hand though his hair. "Yeah, did you not hear about that? I thought everyone knew."

"Well...I was kind of drowning in college and didn't really hear about it."

"Oh...well...apparently, they went bankrupt. Joey kept using money for weird things, but oddly enough, that money wasn't being used to create decent cartoons anymore. Some suspected that he was stealing funds for personal reasons. Medical bills apparently. Joey got in trouble for embezzlement and couldn't come up with the funds that he stole. Almost a million dollars stolen from the company. So the workers demanded their money back. After that, I kind of ignored the media."

Jane was silent for a few moments as she tried to piece things together. "Sooo...why do you think he wants you to come back to the studio? I mean, if it's abandoned."

Henry rose from the table and began throwing away the containers. "I don't know, Jane. It's best if I just let the past go and just move on with my life. Joey buried himself in that hole a long time ago and betrayed me too many times. I don't want to reopen old wounds and go face him again." he explained, moving over to the sink.

"But Henry, what if he really wants to make up after all these years?"

Turning on the sink, he talked louder over the running water. "I highly doubt it."

"But what if I went with you? If he met me, maybe I'll get to see what sort of person he is. Either that, or I could just give him a piece of my mind about how he treated my favorite person."

After he was done washing his hands, he turned to grab the dishtowel. "Yeah, I'm sure you would scare him away. But my answer is no. I appreciate that you would like to help and possibly get an autograph from him, but my mind is made up."

"But...I mean, it wouldn't hurt for the both of us to go-"

"I said no!" Henry suddenly shouted, making her jump back. Immediately, he stopped yelling and dragged a hand down his face. "I...I'm sorry, Jane. I just...I'd rather not speak to Joey again. I just...it was just a bad time in my life and I'd rather die knowing that I put that past behind me."

Jane frowned in response. She had never seen him like this. It was beyond unlike Henry to be so frustrated and disgusted towards someone.

When she didn't say anything, Henry walked over and crouched in front of her chair. "Hey, look...I'm sorry. I just...I haven't thought about him in a long time and I don't like opening old wounds. Do you understand?"

She understood that analogy very well and wholeheartedly agreed with him. God only knew how many wounds she had that were threatening to open.

"Yeah...I get it. But still...closure can be a good thing." Jane tried to assure him.

He sighed. "True, but in this case. I'd rather leave things the way that they are." Then he rose back up. "Now come on, let's finish up with dinner. We can watch something on the late night game show network."

As Henry left the room, Jane couldn't help but look at the letter that lay on the table next to her, a frown setting on her lips.

* * *

That night, all Jane could do was toss and turn. No, it wasn't because her phone kept lighting up with text messages from her parents, wondering where she was and why she didn't she call them. Mainly because she didn't want them to know where she was and why she wasn't home yet. They knew school was out and students had to clear out of their dorms. So why wasn't she home? Oh yeah, she was hiding out at her Uncle's house becasue she was afraid to go home.

No, it wasn't that. Shocking enough.

Most of the reason why she couldn't sleep was because of that letter and Joey Drew. Why was she so curious about this? It wasn't really her business. This was all on Henry.

But...why did she seem so drawn to this? It sounded like a real mystery. From what she found out about the studio, she was beginning to wonder. What was Joey's purpose for reaching out to Henry? After all these years? Did he want to apologize? Did he want Henry to work with him again? Did he want money?

It was beginning to drive Jane crazy as she flipped over onto her stomach for the fifth time in the past half hour. Her eyes glanced at the digital clock to see the number three staring back at her. "Ugh...this is useless..."

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus. 'What did he want? Wait...wasn't there a reason why Joey wanted Henry to come meet him?'

Unable to keep this off of her mind, Jane slowly got out of bed and crept downstairs. She hoped that Henry was still sleeping and that he was still the heavy sleeper she remembered. All those late nights when she would wake up and sneak into the kitchen to steal some ice cream from the freezer.

As soon as she made it to the kitchen, she began searching through the pile of envelopes on the table. Even if it was dark in the kitchen, Jane tried to avoid turning on any lights. She pulled her cell phone out and shined a light over the table.

"Bill...bill...another bill...swimsuit ad..." she mumbled quietly as she sifted through the copious amount of envelopes. Then her face scrunched in disgust when she found an ad for 'spicing up your dating life'. "Ew...seriously Uncle Henry." Like he had much of a dating life. Then again, Jane's love life at the moment was pretty scarce as well.

When there were no envelopes left, Jane was confused and shocked. Where did the letter go? Did Henry throw it away?

Her eyes trailed over to the nearby trashcan and nausea crept over her. "Oh no...please don't tell me..." she dreaded softly, creeping over to the covered can. Reluctantly opening the can, she found the letter. However, it was covered in lo-mein noodles and red sweet and sour sauce. Swallowing her pride for a few moments, she carefully pulled the letter out, groaning at the feeling of the sauce on her fingers. "Ew ew ew ew ewwwww..." she squeaked in a crescendo of high pitches, using her clean hand to delicately open the envelope to pull the letter out.

Thank goodness the letter was back inside the envelope whenever Henry threw it away.

Once it was out, she quickly tossed the ruined envelope back into the trash before she rushed to the sink to scrub her hands about three times. One thing that she really didn't like was reaching into the trash. After she was finished practically turning her hands pruned, she went back to the letter that she left on the counter and skimmed over it.

He had something to show Henry? What could he possibly have to show him? For a man who lost his entire company, what could he have? A new idea for a cartoon? But why reach out to Henry?

Jane's mind started creating several scenarios of Joey and Henry meeting up after all these years. One idea had Joey begging Henry to come back and work with him to revive the studio. Another had Joey showing his friend the new cartoon idea that he came up. Then of course, the third one, Joey admitting that there was no surprise and he only said that to get Henry there to speak in person.

Well...whatever it was, there was a specific reason why Joey was reaching out to Henry thirty years later.

And if Henry wasn't interested in finding out the end of this mystery, then Jane was the girl to do it. Yeah, she would go see Joey and find out what he wanted to show her uncle. And then she could go back home and tell Henry!

"Wait...why would you do that, Jane?" She whispered to herself, sitting down in one of the chairs. "That would be insane. Drive all the way to Joey Drew Studios just to find out why Joey is reaching out after all these years.." Her eyes caught the letter again, making her sigh. "Then again, if you don't...then you'll always think 'what if'."

Jane picked it up and read over the letter.

Pursing her lips, she made up her mind. "Guess I'm completely insane."

* * *

Early the next day, Jane got up and quickly repacked her bags. She didn't want to waste a moment of discovering this secret. This was so exciting! At the same time, this was completely insane, since she told herself that she was for the hundredth time since last night.

Why was she doing something so ludicrous?

Deep down, Jane was upset with herself. She was always isolated in her own little world. Of course, she liked her 'little world' when it came to drawing. But...maybe it was time for a change. Her life was practically over at the moment, being a failed college student who lost practically everything. Kind of like how Henry lost everything when he quit. Maybe she should try and change her life as well.

Do something spontaneous! Go on an adventure! Live life to the fullest!

Well...now she had that chance.

Henry was waiting downstairs by the door, watching his niece bring the rest of her things down. "You're really going back right now?"

Jane hated lying, but she knew that Henry would try to stop her from leaving. His tone last night about speaking to Joey again pretty much summed all of it up. He didn't want to see his friend nor did he want his niece to meet him.

"Yeah...uh...I figured that I shouldn't have to keep it for much longer. I'll just...go home and well...get it over with." she replied, brushing her hair behind her ear, gently dragging her nails over the back of her neck. A habit that she did whenever she lied or was trying to hide a secret.

He frowned at her, rubbing his neck. "You know...if things don't work out with them. You can always come live with me."

Hearing that made her heart lift a little. "Really?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind having a roommate." he chuckled softly. "I bet you'd be...interesting to live with."

She snorted. "Yeah, I'll hog the bathroom and fill the fridge with chick food."

"Hey, if it's Chinese and ice cream, then I'll completely agree to those terms."

They laughed softly before Henry pulled her in for a hug.

"Is it bad that I'm sort of hoping that you'll come back in a few days?" he asked, his voice laced with guilt.

Jane still smiled, squeezing him back. "No. I'd honestly stay here if I could."

Henry pulled away, pushing her hair back. "Then why don't you just leave your stuff here and it'll be upstairs when you get back."

"Really?" she asked, watching Henry pick one of her bags back up and tossed it onto the couch.

"Yeah, just leave it upstairs and I'll keep your room ready."

Her teeth bit her lower lip in excitement . "You're the best uncle ever, you know that?"

"Eh, I don't really hear it that often. Especially since you're the only niece I have. But yeah, I think I'm pretty awesome."

"Just **_pretty awesome_**? You're a secret animator who created the greatest cartoon character ever, a wizard when it comes to trivia game shows, and of course...the only guy who knows how to eat a whole large order of lo mein within one night."

Henry laughed, shaking his head before muzzling her hair. "Hey, it takes real talent to eat that whole container."

Yep, living with Henry was going to be fun.

She made her way to the door and opened the door. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay, be safe. And don't forget to call...or text...preferably that you call. I don't know how to text really well. Your uncle doesn't really know much about technology the way that the rest of the world does."

She shook her head. "Don't worry, I won't make fun of the fact that you're an old man."

He smirked in response. "Just make sure that you're safe out there. Call me."

"I will, I will. Don't worry. You know I try to be careful." she assured her uncle, pulling the duffle back over her shoulder. "I'll see you hopefully in a few days."

They said their goodbyes before Jane walked out the door and climbed into her pick up truck. She waved at Henry, who stood on the porch waving.

"See ya, Kid!" he shouted as she backed out of the driveway and started driving down the street.

It was really sad to leave Henry so soon, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel excited.

One reason was because she knew that she had a place to stay if her parents threw her out. She could live with the one person who would be proud of her no matter what. Then she could figure out what to do with her life from there.

The other reason was because of the adventure that she was about to embark on. She didn't know what could come out of this, but she was anxious to see what was going to happen. Getting to meet Joey Drew in person! Would he be nice? Welcoming? A selfish jerk like how Henry described?

She quickly typed the address of Joey Drew studios into her GPS and allowed the directions to lead her there. A long six hour drive, but deep down, she hoped that it was worth it.

* * *

 **And that's the end of chapter two! Joey Drew Studios, here we come! Next chapter, Jane will finally come to the place that was created for dreams that turned into nightmares. I can't wait to start writing what happens in the factory! It'll be a challenge, but I'm hoping that I'll succeed!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review! I hope this chapter didn't seem too rushed at all. Guess I was anxious to start working on the next chapter! I'll try to have chapter three done soon! Thanks guys! ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Woo! Chapter three! Well...we're finally here at Joey Drew Studios! Eeep! This is going to be a little crazy! I'm nervous about this one since majority of this chapter is descriptions (it's not my strongest suit), but hopefully this turns out good for you guys. I worked very hard on this for two weeks and this was quite a challenge for me! Hopefully, I did good!**

 **I'm honestly surprised that I'm receiving so many follows, favorites, alerts, and reviews on the first two chapters! Seriously, every time I get an email about them, it makes me feel so excited and appreciative over this! Thank you everyone for making my summer better!**

 **Please don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you're thinking about this story! I love to hear what you guys think and if you have any advice to help me out! You can even PM me and I try to reply back as soon as I can! Also, I've got a little game at the end for you guys to do! So don't forget to read the bottom notes! Thanks everyone! Enjoy! (because it's a long chapter!)**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bendy and the Ink Machine. That belongs to the Meatly! I only own my OC, Jane.**

* * *

 **Review Responses : Once again, you guys surprised and excited me! You guys made my whole weekend! I'm beyond happy to hear your reactions and I'm glad that I'm on the right track! Hopefully, I can keep this up whenever Jane gets to the studio and the Bendy characters begin showing up and interacting with her. **

**RainbowCelin- Thank you for your sweet comments! ^_^**

 **SpringBorn- Yay! Thank you! I tried to make Henry have more depth to his character. And he seems like he's an awesome character.**

 **Dancing-Ink Demon- Thank you and you're welcome! Aww thank you!**

 **Majestic Yo-Kai Fauntleroy- lol I liked that! Definitely made me smile :)**

 **Twins 'n Fandom- This is one of the best compliments I've ever received! I'm thrilled to hear this! I want to avoid my OC's becoming a Mary Sue and I'm glad that I'm on the right track! Hope to keep this up!**

* * *

When she grew closer to the studio, Jane stopped off at a gas station to stock up on a few things plus gas. She felt exhausted as she climbed out of the truck, stretching out her legs. All she had done was drive; well besides a few rest stops and a fast food joint to eat.

She went into the station and gathered a few items to take with her on the rest of the trip. A couple granola bars, a bag of chips, and a chocolate bar as well.

In times like these, she always managed to pack a few snacks. She was always the kind of person who thought ahead of things. The kind of person who packed everything but the kitchen sink. She carried around a bag where it contained items that she didn't even know that she packed.

While she paid for the snacks, her eyes perused the counter for any last minute items to take along with her. When she spied the mini LED flashlight, she snatched it up and placed it with the other items. Never know when you need a flashlight.

The male clerk looked at her stuff and laughed. "Got a sweet tooth?"

Jane gave a half smile and shrugged. "Kind of."

He smiled, packing her bag while she paid. "Well...hope this helps your travel go smoother."

"Thanks." she mumbled softly as he handed her the bag. "Have a good day."

"You too." he grinned as she quickly walked away.

Hopefully the travel went better.

Her stomach was in knots by now. When she started the trip, the adrenaline was pumping through her veins and she was so excited to do something so out of the box. Now that she was only thirty minutes away, the pressure was really setting in.

What was she going to say? Do?

As Jane climbed back into the truck, she shook her head a few times and and gently smacked her cheeks. "Stop it...stop it..." she mumbled, trying to stop herself from having a nervous breakdown. "You're just going to see a man. You've met plenty of men, right? You're just going to see a man...a man who used to work with Henry. A man...who owns one of the biggest animation studios and who betrayed your uncle. You're just going to talk to him about what he wants. Yeah...so just...stop freaking out..."

Gazing into the rear view mirror, she frowned at her reflection.

'Stop being sooo...weird. What are people going to think?' a familiar voice echoed through her mind, making Jane's eyes water. 'I hate it when you act like this.'

Biting her lower lip, Jane wiped away the tears that threatened to fall. "Stop this...don't think about that." she told herself, wiping her eyes. "Focus on the task at hand."

Jane started the truck and got back onto the road, blasting a sappy love song that she always sang to keep her mind off of things anything to keep her nerves under control

* * *

About several miles later, she arrived at the gate that led into the studio. By this point, her heart was racing and every nerve was twitching.

The gate was slightly cracked, making Jane's hopes rise a little. Someone was here!

She quickly got out to open the gates, hearing the loud screech of metal rusting. Once it was open, she climbed back into the truck and drove down the long driveway.

As she pulled into the abandon lot, Jane's mind began to wander about what she would gain from this.

Arrested for trespassing? Get inured for breaking and entering? Or would she get the answers that she was hoping for?

Sitting there in the only safe place that she knew and trusted, Jane let out a long sigh.

"What are you doing Jane? This is beyond crazy. This is like going cliff jumping off a skyscraper. This is like committing a robbery with a squirt gun." Jane pushed her hair behind her ears. "You've really got to stop watching those kinds of shows when people are pulling stupid stunts..."

Her eyes started up at the abandoned studio that lay ahead. The building was awfully big. Giant windows lined the sides of the walls, a long set of stairs led up to the main doors, and above those doors was an aging sign that probably read 'Joey Drew Studios', except now it read 'Jy Drw Stds', due to the fact that some letters were long gone. In the right hand corner, there was a large cartoon head of Bendy that had seen better days.

A small chuckled left her lips when she looked at the sign a little closer. "All the vowels are gone."

At least she had a little bit of humor about all this.

"You're really doing this. You're _**actually**_ doing this..." she mumbled softly. "If this is your idea of an adventure, then you're clearly losing your mind."

Once she stopped scolding herself, Jane grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulders and then got out of the truck. The sound of the car door slamming shut echoed through the empty lot, making her heart sink.

"Maybe this was a bad idea." she cowered, her hand gripping the door handle, ready to get back in, drive home to face her parents, and go back to her miserable life.

But just when she was about to leave, a light flickered on in the window on the right side.

Maybe Joey was really there. But...how did he know that she was coming tonight? Maybe he lived there secretly and saw her outside. Or perhaps he stayed there in order to meet up with Henry.

Well whatever the reason, someone was there.

Jane gnawed on her lower lip as she contemplated over this. 'Make up your mind! Either you go back to your life or you face this crazy notion and meet the man! Stop being so indecisive!' she yelled mentally at herself. A tactic that she used quite a lot in times like this.

Finally, she released the handle and slowly made her way towards the front doors.

The summer breeze blew through her long hair while the late afternoon sun beat down on her.

"Imagine being here at night." she shuddered, looking up at the Bendy head on the sign. "It would be like a real horror movie."

Her nerves started shaking the closer she got. She was going to meet the man who helped create the world that she grew up on. But...he was also the man who practically ruined her uncle's life. What would he look like? How would he act? What would he say when he discovered that Henry's niece came instead?

Well whatever happened, it would probably change lives.

Once she made it to the doors, she gently touched the doorknob and turned it. "This is it..." she whispered, pushing forward. The door gave away, creaking open like the bracket hadn't been oiled in years. The hallway ahead was slightly dimmed, but Jane was able to see where she was going.

Taking a hesitant step inside, Jane ventured down the hallway. As soon as she was about a few steps in, the door behind her slammed shut, making Jane nearly jump out of her shoes.

"Geez...could I be anymore of a scardy cat?" Jane asked sarcastically, hoping that Joey didn't hear.

Jane crept into the main room, taking a look around. The room was dimly lit from the lights, but the real thing that lit up the room was the sign that caught her eye. Internally, Jane was nearly screaming when she saw the Joey Drew Studios sign surrounded by reels, which were turning as if they had never been turned off. Someone was definitely here!

She ginned, stepping closer towards the sign. Memories of seeing this logo at the end of every Bendy cartoon made her heart warm at the thought and her nerves slowly disappear.

She was actually here!

When she finished fan-girling over the sign, her eyes scanned around at the room. The walls were crumbling, being hidden behind several mismatched boards. The ceiling above was practically falling apart. Honestly, it was a real mystery how this place was still standing.

The sound of something dripping in the distance caught her attention. Was this place leaking too?

Her eyes trailed over to the corner to see an old fashioned projector with a film reel still in the holder. "Wow..." she marveled softly, moving closer to examine it. She had always seen these in old movies and always wanted to see one up close. "Wonder if it still works." When she located the switch and flipped it, but nothing happened. Jane's excitement dimmed when nothing came up on the screen ahead. "Bummer..."

Leaving the projector, she took the hall on the right side and wandered down until she came upon a small drawing desk in the corner. Upon further inspection, she saw a name plate above the desk, covered in a thin layer of dust. Using her finger, Jane swept the dust off, revealing the golden letters that read 'Henry'.

A smile crept on her lips. "Looks like they never got rid of your desk, Uncle Henry. Like you never really left."

There were a few scraps of paper lying around her shoes and a couple of drawing pencils as well as a small ink pot on the desk.

"Do people still use those?" she asked herself as she looked around at the various desks that were in the room next door. Papers were scattered all over the desks and floor while the lights above flickered on and off. It was as if everyone just stopped caring before this place was shut down and made a mess of everything. Probably to spite Joey for all the mistreatment.

Her brows rose. "Yep, this place is definitely abandoned." she mumbled, stepping away from the room. "But where's the so called 'creator'?"

As Jane left the artist area and went back into the main lobby, something out of the corner of her eye caught Jane's attention.

The projector that she had tried to turn on before was now shining a small glow on the wall while music played softly in the background. "What...the..." She remembered that it wasn't working before. Next to the projector was a cardboard cut out of the infamous little devil known as Bendy. Was that there before?

Feeling slightly skeptical about this, she tried to ignore it and traveled down another hallway filled with several doors.

The familiar sound of something dripping became louder as she turned the corner.

When she saw what was causing this, Jane's feet stopped instantly. At first, she thought it was water that was dripping, but instead it was something dark and was pooling on the ground below. Not only that, but someone had used that black substance to write something on the wall.

 _'Dreams Come True'_

Reluctantly, she crept closer and cautiously held out a finger to catch some on her finger. It was wet and smeared easily across her skin. "Is this ink?" she voiced quietly as she looked at the continuous drip. "Why would someone have ink dripping here? I mean...this is an animation studio, but this is kind of over the top."

Jane left the strange inky trickle and ventured further down the hall. There were several doors on either side of the wall, but all of them were locked. Strange...but then again, this place was probably closed for years.

But wasn't someone here?

Clenching her fists, she attempted to find out. "H-hello? Is anyone in here?"

Her voice echoed for a moment, letting her voice reverberate back to her. Then a pause of dead silence made her stomach sink a little.

Someone had to be here...right?

"Joey? Is that you?"

Nothing.

Jane bit her lower lip as she kept walking until she came to a pipe that stretched across the floor. Climbing over it, she was able to see what was hidden around the corner and it made her curiosity expand.

Ahead of Jane was a spacious room with several chains that hung from the ceiling while the ends of those chains ran all the way down into a deep dark abbess. There was a long railing that barred her off from going over the edge and rather large switch stared back at her.

"What the heck is this?" she asked out loud, hearing her voice echo throughout the room. "What kind of animation studio has stuff like this?" She stood against the railing, leaning over as she was trying to see into the hole.

In the corner of her eye, Jane spotted a power box with a sign that read 'Power'. Below that lay an unusually large battery about the size of a car battery.

Jane moved over to pick it up, with a little bit of strength and lifted it up into the slot. It sparked a little once it was in place, making her step back in surprise.

"That's not good..."

Glancing over her shoulder, she stared at the now glowing lever. Internally, she could hear the curious voice in her head saying to pull it. But on the other hand, the other voice was telling her to leave that glowing tempting button of destruction alone!

But...her curiosity won in the end as she found her hand on the lever and she pulled it down. The room began to shake and rumble while the chains began moving.

"Oh Jane, what did you just do?" she moaned in despair.

Within moments, a massive machine appeared from the darkness. Jane's mouth dropped in shock as she stared at the colossus machine before her. It was almost as big as the room was.

What in the world is this sort of contraption doing in an animation studio?

At the nozzle of the machine, Jane could see a small trickle of some sort of dark liquid dripping down. More ink?

"What is this thing? An ink machine?" she asked herself as her eyes trailed over to see a sign that read 'Ink Machine'. "Oh...wow I'm smart..."

When her eyes trailed back to the machine, Jane's inner child curiosity kicked in, causing her desire to get close to it to intensify. Maybe turn it on to see what would happen.

She searched the area for another switch, but nothing was in sight. "Naturally, no way to turn it on." she sighed heavily before taking one last look at the hulking machine before her. "Huh...guess its mystery will be lost forever. Cool machine though, even if it's a little weird." she mumbled, leaving the ink machine room. This was getting a little too strange for her.

A long sigh left Jane's lips as she climbed over the slow pipe again. "Maybe that's what Joey was talking about in his letter. Seems like something big to brag about to your old friend. But...would've been nice if the sender was actually here...or at least left instructions."

When she rounded the corner, she stopped abruptly. A strange feeling crept up her spine when she noticed another hallway appear where she knew that wasn't there before. She had recalled a shutter being there on that wall, closed tightly. But now, there was a lit up hallways with several more doors.

"I must be going crazy...because I know for a fact that wasn't there before..." Her head shook incredulously, before she crept closer. "Is this some sort of fun house? Because I'm definitely not having fun."

In fact, this was getting a little creepy.

But...once again, her inquisitiveness won again as she slipped down the corridor.

At the end of the hall, another Bendy cut out stood against the wall. Jane stared into its dark eyes before she felt the chill run down her spine again. "Who knew that could be so...creepy in this light." she shuddered, shaking her head as she ventured further down the hall. Suddenly a long board dropped from the ceiling, landing on the ground with a loud bang, making Jane jump back.

"Good thing I wasn't there..." she sighed in relief, stepping closer to the board. "This whole place is probably being held up by toothpicks at this point."

Something dark on the left side caught her eye, making Jane turn towards it. Instead of the chill, Jane felt her heart nearly plummet into her stomach at the sight before her at the end of the hall. Her breathing grew shallow. What...was _**that**_?

That voice in the back of her head said no. Her legs felt like lead, keeping her planted on the floor. She wasn't going to go near that thing.

But...she had to find out what it was.

Biting down on her lower lip awfully hard, Jane crept towards the strange sight.

The closer she got, the scarier and obscure it became.

Before her was what looked like a black and white cartoon character, strapped to an upright gurney table, with it's chest cracked open like a dissection project. A large wrench lay in the creature's chest. Candles surrounded the dog like creature while ink seeped through ceiling making the entire thing look like a sacrificial ritual.

"What the...I...what is this?" Jane choked, staring at the gruesome sight. "Is this some sort of Halloween thing that they forgot to take down or some...sideshow joke?"

Jane was beginning to feel a little unsafe in here. Where was Joey hiding at? Why was this place so creepy? Of course it was abandoned and falling apart, but what sort of abandoned studio had a dead cartoon character strapped down to a table? This was something straight out of a horror movie and she was the clueless victim.

"Please don't let this be a horror movie...I'm much smarter than those bimbos on TV." Jane breathed when she spied a poster on the wall next to the creature.

Realization slowly crossed her face when her eyes glanced between the poster and the figure.

"B-Boris?" she whispered in fear. "Boris the Wolf?"

Jane could remember watching Bendy cartoons as a child and seeing the goofy and slightly mischievous wolf playing pranks on Bendy that would make the little Devil run off. He was a playful character and always made Jane smile and laugh as a child.

But...now...he looked...dead. His chest was opened and little X's lay over his eyes like a knocked out cartoon character. Except instead of humor, all Jane felt was...fear.

"Wh-who did this to you? Why would anyone?" she whispered, her voice shaking a little.

Out of fear, Jane slowly stepped backwards and quickly walked away. This was getting too weird.

She moved down the hall to the other room until she arrived in the doorway. The large room had several column like pedestals, three on each side of the room. Straight ahead was a power switch with a large sign that said 'Ink Machine'. Was this the switch that turned it on officially?

Cautiously, she tiptoed towards the lever, as if she was trying to stay silent. However, every footstep creaked against the wooden floor.

"What are you doing Jane?" she asked herself. "Why are you doing this? This is the time to leave...not stick around and pull the lever of death..."

Her hand touched the lever and tried to pull down, but it was stuck. A light began flashing next to the switch began blinking, 'low power'.

"Okay Jane, there's no power. It's time to go and realize that Joey isn't really here." she told herself, stepping away slowly. "Just...go home and pretend that you never saw anything..."

When she took another step, something touched her foot, making Jane gasp and jump backwards. She looked down to see a black book laying on the floor.

"Geez Jane, getting scared over a book." she scolded herself as she reached down to pick it up. Turning it over in her hands, she saw the white lettering that read, _'The Illusion of Living'._ "What the heck?" she whispered, flipping through the book. On each page, there were markings and notes written by someone over the true words of the book. Circles, stars, and lines were crossed out. Some of the phrases were too obscure for Jane to read.

Once she saw a phrase that had the word death and sacrifice in them, Jane gulped before quickly shutting the cover closed. Then she set it down on the nearest pedestal to avoid reading anything more.

A spotlight came on, making her jump.

"What the..." Her eyes trailed over to the picture behind that had an image of a book. It matched what she placed on the column. "That's really weird..." She said, shaking her head before she walked away.

At this point, Jane wasn't sure what to expect and she didn't know if she wanted to find out. Joey was nowhere in sight and yet...the lights and machines were running as if there was someone there. Did that mean that someone else was there with her? Or...was there anyone at all?

Jane's heart dropped at that thought. "No no...there are no such things as ghosts." she told herself, turning the corner, only to let out a loud scream when she came face to face with a Bendy cardboard cutout.

That... _ **definitely** _wasn't there before.

"Who put this here?!" she yelled out, feeling slightly frustrated and scared over this rude prank. "Seriously! Who did this?!"

Her protests were no use as nothing echoed back. The only thing that stared back at her were those dark eyes that belonged to the cardboard cutout as well as the dissected figure of Boris.

Jane ran past the cutout and down the opposite hall as fast as she could. When she was away from the fearful sights, her eyes glanced around the room for anything that would tell her who was there with her.

Why was she still here? She should just leave and never return! Maybe go to the nearest seven-eleven and freeze her brain on blue slushies. Forget this ever happened and let the crazy mystery die. Go back home and face her parents already.

But when she was about to walk away, something caught her eye, making Jane look down at the table nearby. A small tape recorder lay there and it looked like a tape was still in there. This place was filled with all kinds of older technology. Peering closer at the player, she could see writing on the white strip of the tape that read, _'Wally Franks: Diary Tape 1'_.

Wally Franks? Who was that?

Jane's hand reached out to push the button, but stopped herself. "Don't...even dare Jane. This will just make you want to stay and go exploring. And then that exploring will lead to death and destruction. **_Your_** death." Her feet began pacing in front of the table as she fought with herself. "It's just a tape, it's not like it's going to jump out and attack you..." she trailed off before looking down at the tape. "Right?" A heavy shake of her head followed. "Oh stop being so paranoid. True, there's some really messed up stuff going on, but that doesn't mean that this is really happening? Maybe you're imagining things. I mean, remember when you made up that monster that lived in your closet? Yeah...it just turned out to be a puffy coat with a tear in the sleeve. A big tear..."

She nearly turned the corner to see if the cutout was still there, but stopped abruptly, afraid to see if it was there.

"Just...check the tape and then leave. Find out who this Wally is and then go." she told herself before going back to push the play button on the tape. "It's amazing that people still have these."

 _"At this point, I don't get what Joey's plan is for this company. The animations sure aren't being finished on time anymore. And I certainly don't see why we need this...machine. It's noisy and messy and who needs that much ink anyway. Also, get this...Joey had each of us donate something from our workstations. We put them on these little pedestals in the break room; to appease the Gods Joey says. Keep things going. I think he's lost his mind. But hey, he writes the checks. But I tell you what, if one more of these pipes burst, I'm outta here!"_

When the tape stopped playing, Jane was left there in shock as she took in this new information.

Before, she had no idea what any of this meant, but now...after hearing Wally's account on what was happening...some of it made sense now.

But the question was...was she going to try and turn on the machine still?

* * *

About a half hour later, Jane's arms were full of items that could be possibly used in the power room. In her arms, she held an old record, a small bottle of ink with a skull painted on the label (very creepy), a large machine gear, and a cute little Bendy plushie that she found.

She managed to go back into the break room to study the pictures behind the pedestals and ran back out to gather the items throughout the studio. Thankfully, the cutout stayed in place. Last thing she needed was to get spooked by that again.

Jane placed the items in their respected places, seeing spotlights turning on above them. Looks like she was on the right track.

However, there was only one pedestal left. And the picture behind it showed a wrench.

Jane sighed heavily in response. She had searched every single room for one, but came up with nothing. Where was it?

As she began mentally checking to see what rooms she had checked, her heart dropped when her eyes fell on the Boris room ahead. Low and behold, the end of a wrench was sticking out of his chest.

"Why me..." she wailed, slowly creeping over to the dark room. "Why did it have to be there?"

Biting her lower lip, Jane carefully leaned forward, grabbing the top of the wrench and began to pull. At first, it seemed pretty stuck and the fact that the wrench was covered in ink, making it much slipperier, wasn't helping.

Jane stopped pulling and wiped the ink off on her pants, internally yelling at herself for staining them. "Stupid...right on your favorite pair of jeans..."

Huffing a quick breath, she began tugging on the edge of the wrench. Loud groans left her chest as she pulled with all of her might. "Come on! Move! ** _Moooove_**!"

Suddenly, it gave away, making Jane tumble backwards, the wrench enclosed in her hand.

The Boris slumped forward, making Jane's stomach lurch. 'What if that thing was real?' She shuddered at the thought. "Come on Jane, that can't be real. It's just some really creative Halloween decoration."

With the wrench in hand, Jane strutted back to the room and placed the last item on the tower. The spotlight came on, but when she went to pull the lever, nothing happened again.

This made Jane groan loudly in frustration. "Oh come on! What else do I need to do?!"

Once again, nobody answered.

When she looked down at the lever, she noticed that the button now read _'low ink pressure'_.

Was that the next step?

At the back of her mind, Jane had recalled seeing an ink pressure machine down the hall when she was searching for the items. Maybe that's what she needed to do.

Jane left the ink room and stopped the second she got out. The Bendy cutout was gone.

She pushed the fear deep down before she rushed down the hallways. "Don't even...don't think about it..." she huffed, jogging across the creaky wooden floors. "Ignore the fact that the cutout got up and walked away...just pretend that he went to get a drink or a doughnut. Little demons like doughnuts, right?"

'Sure Jane, they like doughnuts.' she mentally told herself, rolling her eyes.

When she approached the hallway, she sighed in relief. Almost there.

"Alright, just turn it on and-" she cut herself off with a scream when the Bendy cutout from earlier peeked around the corner before disappearing again.

The heart inside of her chest beat wildly like a drummer beating on a base drum at a concert. Her mind tried to tell herself that she was just seeing things at this point. That it was her crazy mind. Yeah, that's right. Or perhaps the scent of the ink getting to her head. Her fear...

Shakily, she ripped her backpack around and begins to dig around for something, never taking her eyes off of the corner. What she needed was a weapon. A weapon of any sort.

In the end, all she could pull out was an umbrella that she had in there for an emergency.

"You...you really need to carry a knife from now on...or pepper spray..." she whispered, cautiously taking steps towards the corner. "Like a cardboard cutout is going to be scared of an umbrella. Oh wait... _ **how would I know what a cutout is afraid of**_?"

With every shaky step, her fear was practically doing a tap dance on her nerves.

As soon as she turned the corner, there was nobody in the viewing room. Instead, the Bendy cutout lay against the wall, smiling widely at Jane. Creepy...

Once her foot stepped into the room, the projector in the room flickered on and a Bendy cartoon began to play. The sounds of Bendy whistling the filled the room created an eerie and disturbing symphony that sent shivers down Jane's spine. The Bendy cartoon dancing on screen grinned as he bounced up and down, pumping his arms. His eyes stared back as if looking deep into her soul.

Jane stood there for a moment before she rushed over to the lever. She needed to get out of here. This couldn't be some Halloween joke that someone left behind.

No...this place had to be haunted.

Jane gripped the handle of the lever and shut her eyes tightly. "Just pull it, look at the machine, and leave. Stop being stupid and just leave."

The instant that she pushed the lever forward, a loud squeal screeched above her head, making Jane cringe at the sound. Suddenly the sound of something bursting above made her eyes shoot open to see the pipe above her explode, causing gallons of dark liquid to pour into the room.

She gasped as the room began to fill up with ink, dark sticky ink making its way to her shoes. What was happening?! Ink filling up the room?! What was this?!

Jane tried to back up, but ended up pinned in the the corner while the ink soaked the bottom of her sneakers and began slowly rising.

"I've gotta get out of here." she whimpered before attempting to jump onto a nearby chair that sat in the middle of the ink, clutching onto the umbrella.

The pipe above was leaking like a water pipe had just burst at home. But why were there pipes filled with ink? This was unbelievable! Then again, most of this place was.

Jane leaped to another chair, nearly slipping on the ink dripping from her shoes and crashed onto the seat. "Now this was the ultimate edition of 'the floor is lava'." she panted before she jumped onto the elevated floor on the other side.

She collapsed on her knees right in front of the cutout and glanced behind her to see the ink filling up the room while the cartoon of Bendy continued to play. Shooting up to her feet, she slipped a little on the ink that pooled under her soaked shoes before she took off down the hall.

The trip back was almost a blur. Jane jumped at every loud boom that the pipes above made and avoided getting ink dripped onto her head as she passed under them. Her body was covered in sweat by now, either from all the running or the fear that pulsed through her veins.

All of this was unreal.

The abandoned studio. The mysterious letter that was leading her nowhere. The crazy ink machine in the room before her. The Boris creature in the other room. The 'ritual' described in the tape recording. And more importantly...the creepy Bendy cutout that seemed to follow her!

What was happening and why was she still so determined to turn on the machine that would probably be the worst decision to make?

Her brain was hurting at this point with the indecisive nature she was in. Should she turn this on and face whatever consequences that followed or should she just run out the door and try to forget what she had seen?

Her feet stopped near the hallway where the exit lay when her phone began to buzz.

Pulling it out of her pocket, she looked at text that was sent.

 _Mom: Where are you?! Your father and I can't seemed to get a hold of you. School let out days ago and you're not here!_

Jane's heart plummeted before another text showed up.

 _Dad: ANSWER YOUR PHONE!_

She quickly deleted them and leaned against the wall, sighing heavily.

Right...she still never told her parents that she had left and went to stay at Henry's. Also...she didn't tell them that she has failed out.

Jane dragged a hand through her hair, tugging on it slightly out of anxiety. She didn't need this too!

"Come on Jane, make up your mind. Either go home to face your horrible parents and end up clueless about your next move. Then go back to being a introverted artist who hides from her problems..." she breathed before lifting her head to stare at the hallway that led back to the ink machine. "Or...live life a little dangerous for a moment and try to find out the mystery of this place. Discover the reason why Joey reached out and didn't show up."

After a few moments, Jane shoved the phone back into her pocket and put the umbrella back into her pack before she crept back down the hall. "And if it works and begins leaking, just let it destroy this place." she chuckled to herself, bracing herself for the dangers that possibly lay ahead.

* * *

 **And sadly that's where I have to end!**

 **Trust me, I wanted to keep going, but I felt that this was a good stopping place! Also, I was already at like over 6500 words lol I'm anxious and nervous about Bendy's scenes, but I hope to do good for the next chapter!**

 **Side note, I giggled about the part when she sang that sappy song at the beginning to calm her nerves. If I had to pick a song that she was singing, it would be 'Can't Smile Without You' by Barry Manilow. Because even if it's sappy, it always makes me laugh and it's fun to sing! Mainly because of the scene in Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. If you haven't watched that moment/scene, then go look it up. Trust me, it's hilarious!**

 **MINI GAME: But...I have a mini question for all of you guys out there! If you had to pick a song for Jane to sing in the car to calm her nerves, what do you think she should be singing! I want you guys to give me your answers! It would be a fun little game and I want to hear what you guys have! I like those kinds of games! Don't be afraid to share a funny sappy song or something that would help you feel better!**

 **Anyways, I'm anxious and excited to start on the Bendy chapters! He will be in the next one for those of you who are waiting. Currently working on chapter 4 as we speak! I hope to have it out soon!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review (and an answer to my question!). I want to make this fun for you guys! Also, I'm curious what you guys think of this story so far. Thank you everyone for your support and I hope to hear more in the future! Thank you! ^_^**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Hope everyone's having a great summer so far! Sadly, it's coming to an end and that means the leaves will be changing and people will be going back to school. Which means, work will be picking up once again for me, but I'll try to make time for writing. Because I love writing and I don't know what I would do without it. Oh, and (as of tonight) I just found out that I'm going to be in a play this fall! Eeep!**

 **I'm excited and nervous to write this new chapter. Excited because we finally get some Bendy action! However, I'm really nervous about making him seem real. Because as most of you know, Bendy has never spoken in the game yet nor do we know what's the true story behind Bendy's identity. I hope that you'll bear with me and try to understand what angle I'm going at with this story. I doubt the route I'm going will be the answer to who Bendy truly is. But, this is how I think of Bendy. The other reason why I'm nervous, is because some of this chapter was hard to write. Especially when I was writing it and then somehow EVERYTHING GOT DELETED AND I HAD TO REWRITE IT ALL! Sigh...but...I wrote as much as I could remember and I'm happy how it turned out in the end.**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and put me on alerts! You guys are amazing! Every time my inbox goes off, it makes me feel so appreciated! I'm so glad that you're enjoying what I have so far! If you're waiting on the next chapter, feel free to look at some of my other work! Not sure if they're as good as this story, but I hope that you'll enjoy them just as much. Don't forget to leave a review to let me know your thoughts on the story. Also, if you have any ideas, tips, or other helpful things.**

 **Enjoy! ^_^**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bendy and the Ink Machine! That belongs to the Meatly. I only own Jane!**

* * *

 **Review Responses : Thank you to all of my lovely reviewers! Also, thanks for all of the answers to my mini survey! Turns out most of you had the same idea, Rachel Platten's Fight Song pretty much was answered a bunch. Here and Archive too! lol That was fun! I'll have to think of another question to ask in the future! Thanks again guys! Keep it up! ^_^ **

**The AmazingAuthoress:** Ohh good choice! I think it's Platten. I can't wait to write him, but I'm also nervous about writing him! I want to write him good! You'll just have to wait and find out! Kidnapping would be interesting XD I hope I don't disappoint!

 **SpringBorn:** Thanks! I'm glad that you enjoyed it! Hey! Second person to vote for it! lol popular song!

 **Twins n' Fandoms:** hahaha why thank you! Wasn't expecting that sort of entrance but I'll take it! Oh no! I hope you didn't hurt yourself too much! :( A third vote for Fight Song! Wow! I wasn't expecting that! But awesome! Oh and I will sing Top of the World loudly too! I love that song so much! lol

* * *

Jane jogged back to the big room, feeling empowered for a few moments, where the lever was now glowing while the sign now said _'Ready_ '.

"No turning back..." she breathed, taking step after step towards the lever. Before she could pull it, she took her hand back for a moment. "You really want to do this?" she asked herself quietly. "This would either destroy this place...or kill you..." Her heart faltered for a moment. "Do you really want to do this?"

Part of her cheering yes in the background with pompoms in hand and the other was screaming no, wildly jumping up and down with a giant sign that said ' _don't do it_ '.

Her hand touched the metal handle and pulled down without a second thought. The room went completely dark, making Jane's heart sink. Did she cut the power?

No, the sounds of machines working filled the room. Something **_was_** working. It sounded like something was flowing above her head and through the floorboards.

Reaching into her backpack, she managed to locate the mini flashlight that she had bought earlier. After turning it on, a bright blinding light ignited, making the room a bit brighter. At least she was able to see the path ahead.

"You'd think there'd be at least one window in this place." she whispered, shining the flashlight towards the Boris room. The room was now filling up with ink through the soft glow of candlelight, making the room much creepier...

With a shudder, Jane quickly darted down the hall. Last thing she needed to see was that Boris creature coming to life.

The pipes above clanged and little droplets of dark liquid fell to the floor. Certain pipes were leaking so much, there were small puddles of ink forming on the floor. This place was practically going to drown in ink. What a way to go.

"Just take one look at the Ink Machine, see what it does, and then get out of here." she mumbled, turning the corner. "Let this place destroy itself. And if that doesn't work, then go and destroy those Bendy cutouts. Destroy them with fire."

Each step on the creaky floorboards and every loud boom of the pipes above sent shivers down her spine and her teeth grinding into her lower lip awfully hard.

Around Halloween time, Jane never took part in any haunted houses. In fact, she avoided them like the plague had returned from the Dark Ages. A few friends from school would go to the Halloween parties that were held on campus and drag Jane along. Then they would stand at the entrance for the haunted houses or mazes, and then they would see a girl practically fasten her feet to the ground and refused to move. The only time they managed to drag her inside, Jane nearly fainted at the sight of a monster jumping out of a closet. Needless to say, the security guard had to escort her out. How embarrassing.

Just when she was at the end of the next corner, her cellphone began to ring, making Jane jump and scream so loud that the echo lasted for a few moments.

After she relaxed, Jane pulled out her phone and looked at the screen, internally cringing at the sight of her parent's names. Her heart slowed down when Henry's name showed up on the screen instead. A shaky sigh of relief left her lips. A nice call from Henry might help soothe her nerves. That is...before she makes a mistake.

Lifting it up to her ear, she hit the green button on the glass. "H-hello?"

"Hey, Kid. You never called." his calm voice spoke on the other side. "Was getting worried about you."

Jane bit her lower lip as her feet moved again. One foot at a time. She hated lying to her uncle, but she didn't want to upset him. "Oh...sorry. I just...I was driving a lot and well...you know what they say about using cellphones when driving. I don't think you'd like to get that one phone call if I was stuck in jail." she laughed, trying to stay positive when she passed another trickling pipe.

"Yeah, that's true." he chuckled softly. "Don't think your parents would like that either. Speaking of them..." he started, making Jane's stomach flip. "They called me awhile ago, asking where you were. You should've been back home a few hours ago."

She bit her lower lip, pulling it into her mouth. The flashlight in her hand aimed downward unconsciously. "Uh..."

"Where did you go Jane? Come on, I won't rat you out to your parents. Don't think it would do any good if they drove all the way out to drag you back home."

Her brain was reeling for answers, anything to throw him off. "Uh...I went for a drive along the beach."

There was a pause. "The beach? That's a long way from here."

"Yeah, I know. I just...wanted to go do something fun for a bit before having to face them. So I took a detour."

"Detour? By going in the opposite direction?" he laughed a loud. "You're being awfully tenacious today."

"Yeah, like you have _**no**_ idea." she chuckled nervously, her eyes darting around the corner that led back to the Ink Machine room.

The ink machine's nozzle was now gushing out thick black goop that gathered on the floor. Cautiously, Jane traveled to the edge of the platform, leaning out against the railing so she could get a somewhat closer view of the ink machine. It rumbled and roared to life before her. Sparks flew from the bolts, holding it together. Spotlights above shined onto the colossus before her. The whole idea...and the reality shocked and awed Jane.

"Wow..."

"Wow? What's there a wow about?" Henry asked, breaking Jane from her thoughts.

"Oh, just made it to the shore line and well...it's quite the sight." she replied, staring out into the pool of ink that was starting to cover the floor below.

"Blue waters?"

"Oh yeah..." she lied, staring down at the dark liquid. "Dark blue..."

"Been awhile since I've been to the beach. Maybe I should come down there and...well...I wouldn't say sun tan. Bad for the skin and all."

"No!" Jane shouted before calming her voice. "Uh...I mean, no of course not. I'm not much of a sun bather either."

She didn't want Henry to worry. Worst yet, she didn't want him to know where she was. The second he found out, the sooner he would be there dragging her home. And she didn't want to upset him to the point where he sent her back home and forbid her to move in. All she wanted was a quick adventure, a possible meeting with Joey (who was nowhere in sight), and then go home. Well...maybe a quick stop to the beach after all. Sounded like a good idea.

"Well then maybe we could go jump into the ocean. Get chased by a few sharks and then turn into a couple of shark hunters out at sea." he suggested, making Jane laugh as she turned around to lean her back against the railing, facing away from the machine.

"Yeah, that does sound like fun to me. Then we can make another three disappointing sequels next summer." she added, smiling fondly at the memories of shark movies with Henry during the summer.

Henry laughed again before letting out a sigh. "Yeah, sounds like a plan to me. Maybe when you come back here, we could go on a road trip."

Her lips curled into a smile. "Yeah, that sounds great."

She could almost feel him smiling on the other side. "Good. Then we could go to the boardwalk, go on a few rides, get some cotton candy, and-"

His voice cut off, leaving nothing but silence on the phone. "Hello? Uncle Henry?" Jane said into the phone, never getting a reply back. Pulling it away from her ear, she looked down to see the out of service sign showing up on the screen. "Darn it..." she mumbled, shaking her phone. "Guess I'll have to call him back outside..."

Jane sighed, closing the phone out before putting it back into her pocket. "Maybe that does sound like fun...going to the beach. Maybe I'll go there when-" She stopped talking when something began tugging at her pants leg. When she turned to look down, her mouth went dry and heart plummeted into her stomach when she saw what looked like a hand gripping the fabric of her jeans. The scream died in her throat as she watched the hand, which was now slowly climbing up the railing, pulling up the rest of the 'body' with it. Tremors began shaking through her body when the 'body' was now climbing over the railing. As soon as the 'face' appeared, Jane was completely frozen with fear.

Before her was a large figure, covered in thick clumps of ink that dripped down it's body. It was almost as big as she was! The head seemed to form two curled in horns at the top, which almost looked familiar. As the ink slipped away from it's face, a chill ran down her back when she saw a wide and creepy smile, full of teeth and ink.

Her blood ran cold when she realized why this thing looked so familiar. It was some...monster like version...of the famous cartoon, Bendy the Dancing Demon.

The creature stared at Jane before it's hand reached towards her, fingers wide to grab onto something. Her lips quivered as slowly began backing away from the thing before her as it climbed over the railing onto the floor on shaky legs. Suddenly she turned and took off running down the hall.

Her feet tripped over the pipe that stretched along the floor, making Jane tumble onto the floor which was now covered in something wet. Lifting her head, her fingers touched the wetness that dripped down her cheek. Ink? The hallway that had been there before behind the secret door was now leaking ink through the now closed door.

When something vibrated the floor behind her, Jane looked over her shoulder to see Bendy limping towards her. Jane quickly scrambled to her feet, sliding on the ink slightly before she managed to run a little further.

The whole studio around began to fall apart! Ink was now straining against the mismatched boards while others burst, letting ink flow freely all around Jane. What was happening?!

As she rounded another corner, she stole a glance over her shoulder to see if Bendy was still following. Her stomach sunk when she saw Bendy still limping after her, the walls around it turning darker than ink. The creepy smile still in place. As if he was mocking her in a creepy way.

When Jane turned around to see her way out, the exit sign was just in sight, making her heart lift in relief.

Suddenly a large creak sounded before the floor beneath her feet opened. A loud scream escaped her lips as Jane fell beneath the floor. Broken boards and clumps of ink filled her vision as she plunged deeper beneath the studio.

Her body was submerged in ink while her feet touched the floor, gasping in pain as it shot through her legs, making her stumble onto her backside into the dark goopy substance that was all around her like a swimming pool.

Jane turned her head up so she could see the gaping hole above. Ink poured over the sides into the hole where she sat. It looked so far away from where she was. That must have been at least six stories high. How did she survive that fall?

Her heart was still pounding inside of her rib cage, sweat was probably mixed in with the metallic stench that now was clinging to every stitch of fabric. Her eyes trailed up to the hole to see if that...that 'thing'...was still chasing her? Would it kill her if it managed to grab her? Eat her? Oh gosh...the idea of that just made her sick...

Pressure began building inside of her chest, becoming more and more intense until her eyes filled with tears. In seconds, Jane found herself sobbing heavily as she sat in the now warm ink. "Oh my gosh...I'm going to die..." she sobbed heavily, burying her face into her forearm since her hands were covered in well...ink. Her brain tried to gain control of what was going on and what had just happened.

First, she came to this place. This place where she had grown up, dreaming of coming to since she was a child. The place that inspired her to become an artist. Also, the place where her uncle created Bendy's universe!

Second, she had this cardboard cut out following her like the plague, waiting to strike fear or even kill her eventually.

Third, being the stupid person she was, turned on a machine, in which she had no idea what it would do and then it caused the studio to fill with ink.

Now, instead of being back home with Henry and her parents, she was running away from a monster in an abandoned studio! Oh, and she was now trapped here with that monster and whoever knows what else lurked here!

Jane bit her lower lip as she tried to calm herself down. "St-stop crying...you don't cry..." she told herself, her voice shaking. "Stop being such a baby..."

A creak from above sounded, making Jane look up in time as a filing cabinet tumbled over the side. Her fight or flight response kicked in as she tumbled away from the giant metal case right before it crushed her. The cabinet splashed down beside her, making the ink roll back like waves on the ocean.

Slowly climbing to her feet, Jane moved over to the cabinet and looked up the hole again. Did this thing just fall? Or was that monster trying to crush her?

Backing away slowly, she quickly wiped away her tears. "I'm not dying here. I'm not going to just cry and just let that thing kill me. I've got to get out of here." she panted, swallowing down the lump in her throat. "Crying gets nobody anywhere. You can either...cry and lay on the floor until death gets you or get up and make an attempt to escape with your head held high."

It was pretty close to the sort of pep talk she had to give herself at school. More than once.

As she perused the room for anything to use, she managed to find a tape recording on a nearby shelf. "Maybe this will have some sort of clue." she mumbled, looking at the tape closer.

 _'Thomas Connor: Diary Tape 1'_

Her finger touched the button and pressed down. "The first one did. Hope Thomas gives me clues."

 _"It's dark and cold and it's stuck behind every single wall now. In some places, I swear this Godforsaken ink is clear up to my knees!_ Whoever _thought that these crummy pipes could hold up under this kind of strain, either knows something about pressure I don't or he's some kind of idiot."_ the gruff voice spoke through the tape while Jane glanced around the room, hoping for some sort of clue on the tape just like she had heard before. Especially before Bendy came down to get her.

 _"But the real worst part of all of this are them noises the system makes. Like a dying dog on it's last legs. Make no mistake, this place...this...machine. Heck, this whole darn thing...it isn't natural._ _You can bet, I won't be doing any more repair jobs for Mister Joey Drew."_

Jane's face fell a little when the tape stopped. "Great...that didn't help one bit. Instead, it just showed that I'm suffering with the same exact situation and that another person hated Joey Drew..." she grumbled, shaking her head. "You'd think a mechanic would have some sort of clue..."

Wiping her eyes, she tried to look around the room for anything else to use. The only other things in the room were a door, which was blocked by the ink, the fallen filing cabinet, and a pipe valve with a wheel. "What can I do with any of that stuff?" she asked aloud before shutting her mouth. "Stop being so loud...do you want that thing to find you down here?"

After the self scolding, she examined the valve wheel. Would this turn something off?

Attempting to wipe off some of the ink on her hands, Jane used her shirt as a drying towel. "Gross...gross..." she whimpered before gripping the valve wheel and tried turning it. It squealed for a few moments before the ink began to drain down until the wooden floor was now visible. Her eyes widened in amazement when she stopped turning the wheel.

"Huh...a built in drain...didn't expect to see that." she marveled before moving over to the door and tried to pull it open. The door slowly opened to a set of stairs that led down into a darkened hallway. Above the hallway door was a sign that said 'Keep Out'.

"Well? Do I stay here and just twiddle my thumbs? Or do I go into the dark and creepy hallway with a sign and see what's behind door number two?" she pondered sarcastically, tapping her chin with an index finger. "Hmm...well I guess I'm gonna have to go with the creepy hallway." she answered herself like an overjoyed game show host.

Cautiously, she climbed down the stairs, trying to carefully avoid slipping on any ink puddles. Her legs were still pretty sore from her fall. It's amazing that she didn't break something.

When she made it to the bottom and turned a corner, she saw another pool of dark liquid. "Great...more ink..." she grumbled as she carefully waded in to locate another pipe valve. Thankfully, this room had one as well.

The ink drained once again, leaving her to open another door. "Making progress here..." she panted, walking through the other door. "Hope this leads somewhere."

Another set of stairs, leading further down under the studio. It was the opposite way of where she needed to go, but deep down, Jane hoped that this would lead somewhere different. When she came to another room, she stopped when she saw the message on the tiled wall that was written in...well, more ink.

 **'THE CREATOR LIED TO US'**

"This is just getting stranger by the second. Like the longer I'm here and the more I see...the stranger this is getting." she mumbled. moving closer to examine the message. It was dry when her fingers touched it, as if it had been there for a long time. "The creator...who could that be?" she wondered as she thought back to what Henry had told her. Joey stole Henry's ideas and took all the credit for creating Bendy. Maybe that's what the message meant. But then again...the other workers had their work stolen as well. "Guess Joey left a bad taste here..."

Spinning on her heel, Jane turned around to see a small blotch of ink on the opposite wall beginning to expand. "What the..." she whispered as the spot became bigger. Suddenly something began to emerge through the portal. A large white gloved hand reached out, making Jane shake her head repeatedly. No...it can't be.

Within seconds, like a horror movie, the evil smile pushed through the portal and suddenly Bendy was in the room once again with her. With no where to go...

"No...no no no..." she whispered over and over, moving away, only to trip and fall back into the ink puddle that formed from the droplets that dripped down her clothes. With her life at risk, Jane slowly crawled backwards, never taking her eyes off of the monstrosity before her.

"Bendy" took another step towards her, creating another inky footstep. And then another. And another!

As soon as her back met the wall, her mouth quivered in fear. Her heart pounded inside of her chest like it was about to burst.

The closer Bendy got, the more fear raced through Jane's veins.

She had to do something...or else. Oh gosh...she didn't want to think what this monster would do to her.

Her lips opened and closed, trying to scream or to even say something to the creature as it limped towards her.

The dark goop on the top of Bendy's head dripped down into its teeth, making that smile even scarier than ever.

"P-please..." she stuttered, making Bendy stop abruptly. It tilted its head to the side as if it was trying to understand what she was trying to say. Maybe this could help her a little. After all, it was worth a shot. Anything at all.

"Just...please...if you can understand...I...I don't want to die...or be eaten..."

Bendy's teeth parted a little. "You..." the creature gurgled lowly, making Jane wince, shrinking into the corner she was pushed into. "Y-you..."

Oh gosh...it was going to eat her...

Suddenly the creature's chest puffed out before sucking back in. It began coughing loudly, sounding like an old man choking or a car stalling out when the battery was dead. After a few loud coughs, a giant clump of ink the size of a baseball flew out of it's mouth, landing on the floor nearby.

She gagged a little before glancing back up at the 'Bendy', who was now licking its lips. Its dark tongue slid along what she assumed were the creature's lips before clearing its throat.

"You...you honestly...think I'm gonna eat ya?" it croaked a little, making Jane's mouth drop in surprise. It could speak?!

It sounded like a male voice. A gruff and yet somewhat clear sound. Human like with a slight accent with it. Like a character in an old cartoon. Huh, how appropriate.

"You think I'm in the mood for human?! Heck, I've never even seen a human until now!" it...or 'he' exclaimed, flinging his arms around before he abruptly stopped them in midair before gazing down at her trembling figure. "You are human, ain't ya Toots?"

Unable to find the words, Jane meekly nodded in response.

Bendy' tilted his head to the side before shaking it. "Oh...anyways, why would I do that?! I mean, really! I've been stuck in that darn contraption for like...what...years?! I mean, what's that thing all about?!" he ranted, making Jane shrink further into the wall as he began pacing near her.

The ink was becoming cold as her clothes clung against her skin. She wasn't sure if the hit on the head from the fall was affecting her or she truly had lost her mind.

This creature...Bendy...was alive! He was talking! In perfect sentences! What was going on here?! Beyond this point...she had no clue what was happening!

The being, whatever he was, before her continue to rant, ink running down his face. She wondered why he never wiped it away. Could he see? Did he care?

Wait a second...why the heck should she care? This thing tried to kill her!

"Ya hearing me, Dollface?" his voice spoke loud enough to break Jane's thoughts.

Her mouth trembled. "Wh-what?"

"I said, how did you know I was in there?" he asked again."I mean...I wasn't screaming or anything. Gave up on that a long time ago."

"I...I didn't know..."

He stared, at least she thought, for a few seconds before he moved closer, crouching down. "How...how did you get here?"

She blinked a few times at the question. "Wh-what...I...I don't understand..."

"I've never seen you around here before. I know just about everyone here, but I don't recall seeing **_your_** face...at least...I think I haven't." he said, rubbing his chin in thought. "I may have been stuck in a machine for the past few...well however long. But _**I know**_ that I haven't seen any humans running around here."

Jane watched as he slid a hand over the ink that covered his eyes. Anticipation coarse through her veins as the desire to see what was hiding under the layers of ink increased.

Sadly, he only brushed a little away from his cheek before his cold gloved finger touched her own face. She gasped at the contact, making her eyes squeeze shut.

She didn't want to die! Not like this!

For years, she tried to imagine how she would die eventually. Of course, it was a very grim subject to think about, but when she was drawing alone in her dorm, the thought came to her. Sometimes, she imagined the normal car accident. One where she wouldn't even expect it. She would be driving down the road, probably going somewhere simple, like the grocery store. Or perhaps on her way to work. Some car would come out of nowhere and smash into the car, making everything disappear in a flash.

Or maybe...it wasn't a car accident. Maybe it wasn't something sudden like that. What if she was just sitting at home one day...and then...she would just collapse in the kitchen. If not that, perhaps in her sleep. Calming...blissfully into death. Alone...

But this... _ **this**_ wasn't what she imagined. Being killed by some monster made out of ink in the shape of one of her favorite cartoon characters. Killing her! Would it be slow? Quick? Painful? Oh gosh...would she be conscious?

Something snapped in front of Jane's face, waking her from the deep thoughts she found herself in. "Hey Toots." he alerted, snapping his gloved fingers in front of her. Thankfully, he was no longer touching her face anymore, however, she could feel something cold sliding down her cheek. "You keep going into some daze."

"I...I was thinking..."

"About what?" he asked, tilting his head to the other side, letting ink drip onto the floor next to her shoe.

Without really thinking about stopping herself, she blurted out the answer. "Death."

" _ **Death**_? What are ya thinking about that for?"

"I...don't really know..." she whispered, fear slipping down her spine. "I...I just..."

His hand wiped away the cool spot on her cheek before opening his mouth. "Do you...think I'm gonna kill you?" The ink on his face dripped down his lips while they moved.

Eerie silence surrounded them. No sounds of the ink dripping down the walls or the crashing of machines above interrupted the moment. Was this the way it was going to be? Silent...and deadly?

Suddenly something crashed and a loud scream echoed through the halls of the lower levels of the studio.

Bendy broke eye contact with Jane for a moment as he stared off into the distance. Her eyes stayed on his face, waiting to see if he would kill her. But for only one moment, she took a quick glance to her right to see if she could look at what he was staring at. Nothing.

His face jerked back around so he was facing hers. "We have to go and you're coming with me."

"Wh-what?" Jane gasped before Bendy stood up. His hand gripped her arm, tugging Jane up to her feet. It hurt for a moment before he lifted Jane up onto his shoulder. "Hey! Put me down!"

"The psycho knows I'm out!" he yelled before limping down the hallway, keeping a tight grip on her hip as she struggled on his shoulder. Jane bounced on his surprisingly solid body, bumping into his head. "We've gotta find somewhere to hide before someone finds us!"

"Put me down!" Jane yelled, thrashing on his shoulder a little. Deep down, she dreaded to know where Bendy was taking her!

Her knee came down into Bendy's chest, making him yelp as he dumped Jane onto the floor. She gasped in pain, her body aching from the fall, but she still managed to lift herself up.

Bendy was stumbling away from Jane, holding his belly in pain. "Ahhh! Why would you...owww...that hurt!"

Seizing her moment, Jane quickly got to her feet and tried to run down one of the nearby hallways.

"Hey! Stop!" Bendy yelled as she ran down a flight of stairs.

Refusing to listen to the monster behind her, Jane rushed through the halls of the studio. Her feet slid on the wet floorboards and tripped on the ones that were elevated. She couldn't hear the sloshing footsteps like earlier, but that didn't stop her. She had to hide! Or even better, she needed to escape this cursed place!

"Hey Toots!" his voice screamed down the hall, making Jane's pulse pick up.

Just as she took a chance to look over her shoulder, her foot missed a step and suddenly she felt herself falling down an endless hole, her body hitting something hard every single time. Through her dizzy gaze, she could see steps in her vision. Something sharp cut against her skin, making Jane scream in pain as she continued to tumble.

Then it all stopped when her body landed at the bottom of the long set of stairs. Her vision blurred for a few moments before her eyes shut, surrounding her with darkness.

* * *

 **Sadly, that's the end for now. Wow...lots of crazy stuff, right? This was a tough chapter to write, especially because somehow things got deleted and I had to rewrite most of this. Ugh...but it's done! I hope that you enjoyed Bendy's intro and the rest of the chapter. Please let me know if I was able to capture Bendy! It's the biggest thing I've been worried about besides writing Jane (who I hope that I continue to make her a likeable OC). Will she survive? What will happen next? Next time!**

 **Anyways, if you guys know the game...you know where she's going next! That's gonna be another challenge, but I'm eager because I liked that one with Sammy. Might give him a bigger part in this, who knows. But still...it's happening! lol**

 **Thank you again to all of my amazing readers! I loved seeing my inbox going off with reviews, alerts, and favorites! You guys are beyond amazing! Keep it up! Let me know what you think! I love hearing your advice and comments! Don't be afraid to reach out to me, I always respond whether if it's a shout out on here or a private message, I try to reply! Thanks again everyone! I'll try to have the next chapter out soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Hope you're all having a great day and hopefully it'll get a lot better with this new chapter! Sorry for the long wait, I've been really busy with work and the play lately. (Which by the way, the play was a blast and it's sad that it's now over) Also, this chapter was a little tricky to write due to writer's block. Mainly because just doing descriptions is really tough. I'm more of the conversation writer. But don't worry, I'm adding a lot more in chapters after this! I'm giving the Bendy characters more lines and conversations between them and Jane, which I'm thrilled about! Oh...there might be a special conversation at the end of this chapter. I have to say, it was an absolute blast to write!**

 **This chapter took awhile, but mainly it was because I was waiting for the final chapter of Bendy and the Ink Machine to be released. I have to say, it was a shocking ending and I felt good how it ended, but at the same time, I wanted more. I wanted to find out so much more! Sadly, it's the end until they come out with something else. But...the good news is, my story will have a much different ending compared to the game! Sooo expect the story to go in a different direction! Hopefully you'll enjoy what I have in store! ^_^**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed, added me to their alerts and favorites lists, and of course messaged me about what they thought! You guys are awesome and I love to hear your responses about this! Keep it up! It really helps me with the confidence when I'm writing! I hope that you all enjoy the next chapter because it's a long one! I've already gotten the chapter 6 halfway written because I'm so excited for the next one! Trust me, it's gonna be good!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think! Thanks everyone!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bendy and the Ink Machine! That belongs to The Meatly! I only own Jane.**

* * *

 **Review Responses:** **You guys are seriously the best! I know I always say that but seriously, whenever I'm having a bad day and I see my email go off with a review, favorite, alert, or message, you guys make my day so much better. I hope that you continue your support! ^_^**

 **SpringBorn-** Really now? Huh, guess I never thought of British, but the more I read it, it does sound like that. I was trying to go for like a Brooklyn accent or something like a 1920's gangster like in the movies or old cartoons.

 **Twins 'n Fandom-** Oh my gosh! I loved that! Apparently it came from the pits of the studio XD

 **TheAmazingAuthoress-** hahaha that was hilarious! One of the funniest starts to a review ever! XD I'm still working on how Bendy will be. I know that there are various ways of making him. But I'm trying something a little different. But he'll still be a little crazy, but he still has a tiny bit of soul out there. You'll have to wait and find out soon! It was a lot worse when I was in high school and college, but now...well my sub jobs will be picking up more. Also, I actually started reading one of your Bendy fics, and I really liked what you had so far! I can't wait for the next chapter! Because Bendy and an OC are a big ship for me. Evil or not lol

 **RainbowCelin-** Yay! Then I did my job right! I've never written suspenseful and scary stuff before. I'll still make time for writing! :)

 **Lunisce** : Props for using an Alice quote! lol loved that. Of course! Even if there are a few months in-between chapters, I'm working on it when I'm not working and shelving books. Aww thanks! There will be more, I promise!

* * *

 _Nervousness crept through her mind as she entered the crowded room, filled with students who were sitting around various tables. Some were talking and laughing while others were huddled in a corner with their text books and laptops balanced in their laps. Jane held her bag close as she tried to find a table or a nice corner to sit in so she could study and then perhaps draw for a bit._

 _It had only been two weeks since she settled into her new college dorm and she still wasn't adjusting well. Of course it was a huge step from high school, but she still felt out of place. Her classmates didn't really seem friendly and ignored her existence, she sat alone in the cafeteria, and she was way too shy to say anything._

 _When she had left for college, she had traveled without her mom and dad. Her parents didn't seem too eager to drive her there and claimed some excuse about going away for the weekend to visit family in another state; but she knew better. It was a private vacation. Away from home. Away from her._

 _It had been her uncle, who had driven her to the University and helped her move into the dorms. He of course was supportive and gave her some advice before leaving._

 _'Take care of yourself. Don't do drugs, even the ones that look like candy. Make sure you sleep on your side so you don't choke when you puke. Don't drink and drive, then again, it would be awfully hard to do both. Study hard, but take a break before you have a breakdown yourself. Oh and…if you get a boyfriend, then…be safe. Just imagine a little you running around and giving me problems.'_

 _Jane chuckled to herself, remembering how awkward he was about the advice, but at the same time, she was relieved that someone cared enough to provide helpful advice._

 _As she searched through the library, she couldn't help but take a deep breath, smelling the familiar scent of fresh books. It was always calming to her. For some strange reason, she would just walk into a book store or a library just so she could take in that smell. Anything to make her nerves calm, something to help spark her imagination so she would find inspiration._

 _However, the fact that there were other students around, she tried to keep her expressions and gestures to herself. Nothing like seeing a random student losing their mind, at least that's what some of her classmates would think. So for now, she would keep those thoughts to herself._

 _When she located the towering shelves, she ventured between them, trying to see if she could locate a small corner to hide in. One corner was occupied by a student, searching through the law books, probably looking for a case to study. Another corner was blocked by a couple who seemed to use the library for more…private…uses. This, Jane quickly avoided as she skidded around another shelf. Last thing she needed to see were some couple getting heated between the shelves in the only place she could find solace in besides her dorm room._

 _Finally after a few minutes of searching, she managed to find a cozy corner at the back of the history section; but when she was about to sit down, someone's backpack dropped right in front of her making Jane stop immediately. "Oh…didn't realize that someone else was here."_

 _She found herself stepping back a little and looked up to find a young man looking at her, well…not so much looking than a glare set on his face. He was awfully tall, broad shoulders, wide chest, and limbs that seemed to go on forever. He had shaggy dirty blonde hair, cold blue eyes that stared into the soul, and of course a face that screamed 'hello, I'm here for your viewing pleasure'._

 _"Um…I'll just…" she stuttered, moving backwards slowly._

 _"Wait." A deeper voice spoke, making her stop. "You…don't have to leave."_

 _Jane met his eyes, holding her books closer to her chest._

 _"Look…I uh…didn't mean to scare you there. I'm just used to being back here all by myself. Heck, I don't think anyone has really come back here before. At least…not to study." He spoke, scratching the back of his neck._

 _"I…I'm sorry…I was just…uh…"_

 _Her golden eyebrows pulled together. "Why are you apologizing? You didn't know." Then he leaned down to retrieve his pack. "You can stay here and study for a bit. I don't care. I'll let you have this spot for now."_

 _Jane parted her lips before swiping her tongue across them. "Oh…you don't have to do that."_

 _"I insist." He replied before slowly walking away._

 _Deep down, Jane wanted to stop the stranger and almost couldn't find the words, but…for the first time, she found them. "Wait."_

 _This time, the young man stopped and turned to face her. Her heart skipped a beat when his eyes found hers once more._

 _"Um…it would be a shame for me to take your spot like this without you receiving something in return. You...you're more than welcome to share this spot with me. I'm just…doing some drawings back here."_

 _He blinked a few times before a smile curled on his plump lips. "Oh…well then…I suppose we can compromise to that."_

 _The pack fell to the floor once again and the young man sat down a few inches from the corner where Jane now sat. "Well I'm just studying if you don't mind. I do seem to whisper when I read definitions."_

 _Jane managed a smile as she pulled out her sketchbook and a charcoal pencil. "Sure, if you don't mind my pencil scratching against the paper."_

 _He sat down in his spot, pulling out a notebook full of notes. "Not at all."_

 _For the hour they spent together, it was oddly pleasant. The two of them studied and drew for a bit before he asked her what she was drawing. Jane blushed before she showed him a drawing of a bird that she had seen earlier that morning when she was in class. He was surprised and asked her how was she able to remember every detail. Jane just laughed and said that she had a good photographic memory._

 _From there, Jane asked him about his major and what was he studying for. That stemmed into a long a silly conversation about a professor who seemed to talk more about himself than the class itself._

 _Jane and the strange man talked for awhile longer about their majors before the stranger glanced down at his watch._

 _"Oh, would you look at the time. I've got my next class in ten minutes." He said, collecting his things before standing up._

 _Jane's grin faltered at his words. "Oh...well…I hope you do well on your quiz." Deep down, she didn't want this moment to end. For the first time in a long time, she found…what seemed like to be a friend._

 _"Well…I hope that you do well…in general." He told Jane, ruffling the mop of curls on his head._

 _Jane giggled at the gesture. "Thanks."_

 _They stayed still as the two of them tried to find the next words to carry things on._

 _"Uh…well…I guess I'll see you around the campus." He told Jane, taking a few steps back._

 _"Yeah, I guess so." She replied, setting down her pencil._

 _He saw this and suddenly moved back towards her. "Mind if I?" he asked, gesturing the to the pencil._

 _Her cheeks heated at the distance before nodding her head. The stranger took the pencil and quickly wrote down a few numbers on a scrap of paper from his notebook before tearing it off to give back to Jane. "Shoot me a text or give me a call if you wanna meet up again. We can do more…studying or doodling…whatever we choose to do. Or we could just…talk again."_

 _Jane's hazel eyes widened in shock as she stared down at the number before glancing back up. "Uhh…yeah…yeah that would be…great."_

 _His lips pulled back, revealing a bright smile that had Jane's stomach tingling with excitement. "Great." With that, the stranger turned and began walking away._

 _"Wait!" Jane called out, blushing at her sudden outburst and the way that he turned back around, laughing softly._

 _"I think that's going to be our code word from now on."_

 _Jane couldn't stop the grin that refused to leave her face. "I…uh…wanted to know who I was going to be texting when the time came."_

 _A wink this time. "Call me Travis."_

* * *

A ringing in her head began growing louder and longer. Her body felt as heavy as her eyes did. Slowly, they tried to open, but her vision was blurry, like looking through a foggy window in the winter. Gradually, the sight in front of her eyes became clearer while the sounds of the ringing began to die.

Her whole body ached, certain places stung, and her head felt like it was filled with lead, making it much heavier.

"Ow..." she winced, rubbing her sore head. "Why...does everything hurt?"

Turning her head slowly, she stared up the massive flight of stairs she tumbled down. It looked just as far as the hole she fell through earlier.

"How am I even alive?" she asked herself as she cautiously got back onto her feet. "Seriously? How did I not even break a bone?"

Examining her body, she spied a few cuts and a some red marks that would soon turn to bruises. Truthfully, she felt like her whole body felt broken. Like she had been beaten with a baseball bat or something.

Rubbing the back of her head, she tried to recollect her thoughts. She gasped in horror as her eyes went back to the stairs, her heart pounding heavily at the thought of Bendy coming after her.

Wincing as she moved, Jane limped away, her body thumping with every step she took. She rushed into the nearest room and gasped in shock at the sight she now stood in front of.

A large room filled with candles, lighting the room up. But that wasn't the worst of it. No. Two very tall coffins sat side by side against the wall. And below that...a summoning circle that covered majority of the floor.

Jane's heart jumped up into her throat. "Oh...my...gosh..." she whispered, her body shaking from fear as she stared at the coffins. Who were in there?! Why were they here?! Why was any of this stuff here?! In an animation studio of all places!

Oh this...this was beyond anything she had ever seen or imagined.

Her head turned towards the next doorway to find it boarded up with several wooden boards stretching across her exit. "Well...that's not going to be easy..." she sighed heavily as she searched around for something to pry the boards off. However, she managed to find an ax hanging up on a nearby wall just like a trophy. A short chuckle of relief bubble in her chest. "And things just got easier."

Picking up the heavy tool, she carried it over to the door and lifted it above her head. "Don't screw this up..." When she let the ax fall, it missed a board and hit the wall, creating a small hole next to the doorway. Cursing herself internally, she pulled it back out of the wall and attempted again. This time...she hit the door frame. "Ugh! I swear, the second you get out of here, you're taking lessons on how to be a lumberjack!"

Thankfully, on the third time, Jane was able to cut through one of the boards. But when she was just about to cheer out loud, a loud crash blasted behind her from the other room. Her heart skipped a beat before she began hacking at the boards. She had to get out of there!

After a few shaky and successful chops, she was able to remove most of the boards before she climbed through the opening. The wood scratched against her skin, probably leaving a few splinters, but that didn't stop her as she bolted down the stairs. A board fell from the ceiling, making her gasp when she managed to dodge it.

"Geez this place is falling apart on its own..." she mumbled as she reached the bottom of the stairs and turned around to see something that made her eyes widen.

Before her was an image of Bendy with the phrase 'He will set us free' scrawled onto the wall in ink. It looked like some creepy shrine made for Bendy.

"Okay...this is getting really...really...ritualistic..." Jane whispered as she moved closer to look at the shrine before her. There were candles and bowls filled with...stuff that she shuddered at the thought of. Hopefully those weren't bones...or eyeballs. "Definitely hope it's not something that's gonna jump out and devour my intestines..."

How hard did she hit her head?

As her mind tried to remember what happened before the fall, she gasped in realization that she had talked to Henry on the phone before Bendy grabbed her. Her cell phone! Jane's hand went to her pocket, feeling around for the small cellular device, but found nothing in there. Jane practically ripped her backpack off to search through. After going through practically everything in her bag and scattering her personal items on the floor, she came up with nothing.

Jane cursed under her breath when she wasn't able to locate it. "It's gone..." It must have fallen out of her pocket whenever she fell. Well...one of the times.

Her heart sunk further. There she was, alone, without a way out, and now...absolutely no way to call anyone. Why hadn't she called Henry when she had the chance?

Tears filled her eyes again, making Jane wipe them away quickly. "No way out.." she whimpered. "I'm stuck here with the monster..."

It took a few minutes for Jane to calm herself down this time. Picking up her things, Jane wondered if Henry would ever figure out where she was or if she would ever make it home. He was probably at home, sitting in his favorite chair, watching the latest game show, waiting for her call to say that she was coming to live with him.

She had to get through this and escape.

Wiping away the warm tears, she ventured closer to the shrine where Bendy was painted above a dozen candles. As she examined the bowls full of what looked like bones and candles, she spied another tape recorder.

'Another recording?' Jane thought to herself as she looked at the name on the tape.

'Sammy Lawrence: The Demon's Prayer'

Slightly skeptical about what she would find out, she gently pushed the play button, bringing the tape to life.

 _"He appears from the shadows, to rain his sweet blessings upon me. The figure of ink that shines in the distance. I see you, my Savior. And I pray that you hear me."_

Jane's face twisted in confusion and slight fear. What the heck?!

 _"Those old songs...yes I still sing them. For I know you are coming to save me. And I will be swept into your final loving embrace. But...love requires sacrifice."_

Just that line gave Jane shivers.

 _"Can I get an Amen?"_

Furrowing her eyebrows, Jane shook her head. "Uh...I'd say heck no to that Amen. But I know where you can stick that-"

"I said...can I get an Amen?" Sammy's voice echoed this time through the halls, making Jane's stomach plummet.

Her head jerked around from side to side to see if that Sammy Lawrence guy was in the room with her. Because that voice at the end...didn't sound like it was coming from the tape. But the room was just as empty as it was when she arrived.

The young woman gulped when she found herself staring at yet another coffin. "Oh gosh...this...this isn't happening. This has to be a prop or something..." She shuddered before she rushed down the hall, unable to stare at the wooden box. "This better not be some creepy sacrificial chamber. This is the last thing I want to see."

Along the way, she spotted a few more cardboard cutouts of Bendy standing in front of summoning circles that were drawn on the walls, as if they were created to summon Bendy this way.

Jane's mind began to run with various ideas about how Bendy was brought here. Was there some sort of cult under the studio and they decided to summon Bendy? After all, Bendy was a demon in the cartoon. Maybe they assumed that Bendy was really a demon that could be summoned.

Jane stopped for a moment to try and calm her nerves. "So...I'm trapped here...running away from some demon." Then she felt her heart sink. "Oh gosh…why didn't I just go home?"

She could be home right now, facing her parents and telling them the truth, and then she probably would have been on her way back to Henry's with her entire car packed up. But now…now she was running for her life from some cartoon character that she grew up adoring.

As she came upon another hall, she stopped and eyes widened at the sight of the entire hall filled with ink. Like a dark shiny lake before her. At the end of the hall, was her way out.

"Wonder how deep that stuff is…" she mumbled before she set the ax down to pick up a nearby loose board. Dipping it in the gooey substance, she discovered that the ink was only about ankle deep. Well that was a positive, even if it meant ruining her shoes again. Even if they were coated right now, the last thing Jane wanted was for the cool ink to fill them again.

Jane removed her shoes and socks, holding them in her hand as she picked up the ax. "Here goes nothing…" With that, her bare foot touched the freezing cold ink, making the young woman shiver as she waded through. At least it wasn't up to her waist like earlier.

The lights above flickered while she dragged her feet through. She was cold, but she pressed on. "The second you find some water, you are definitely washing all of this crap off."

"Sheep sheep sheep…it's time for sleep." A voice spoke, making Jane jerk her head up to see a dark figure ahead walking past the end of the hall. In the figure's hands, he held a Bendy cutout.

Jane's heart jumped inside of her chest. A person?! Could they help?! Or could they be…

"Excuse me!" Jane blurted out before she could stop herself. "Can you help me? Please! I'm looking for my way out!" She tried to run through the ink, but found her feet feeling like lead as they trudged through the goop.

"Rest your head, it's time for bed." The figure spoke, staring forward as if they didn't hear her calling.

"Hello?" she called to the figure as she managed to climb out of the ink. But when she came to the end of the hall, the figure was gone and all was left was a summoning circle on the wall with a Bendy cutout staring into her with its soulless eyes.

Dread filled her chest when she discovered that her mysterious figure was gone. Was it just her imagination? Or was the person there and they disappeared into the walls just like Bendy did.

Oh gosh…what if there was another ink being down here with her?

Biting her lower lip, Jane dropped her shoes to the floor and gripped the ax tightly against her chest. Now she was scared.

Her eyes met the Bendy cutout and then…she suddenly swung the deadly tool, smashing the figure to pieces. "Die you demonic cardboard!" she yelled at the now destroyed cartoon character. She wasn't really sure why she did that. Maybe it was from all the frustration building inside of her. Perhaps the fear.

Glaring down at the pieces, she sneered, "That's where you belong."

At least she was getting some frustration out. Maybe it was a bad idea that she now wielded an ax. Jane turned her nose up at the mess she created.

Pushing all the fears of the stranger and the now destroyed cutout, she continued her journey down the hall to spy a shutter that was pulled down, blocking her escape. However, a small power box lit up, proving that there was a way out.

"Now how the heck do I get that thing to pull up?" she asked herself as she looked around. "There's gotta be some button to push. It's gotta be like that shutter upstairs..." Jane searched the walls for any button nearby, but found herself back where the Bendy cutout was before.

Wait a second...

Jane felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she stared into the eyes of the soulless cutout. The pieces from before were nowhere to be found. As if the cutout had reassembled itself again. How did this even...

Letting out a scream, Jane chopped it down again. Sadly, when she turned her back and then went to see if it was destroyed, once again, the cutout was back and in one piece.

For the next several minutes, Jane hacked at the cutout over and over, turning around for a moment before discovering that the pieces would reassemble into the demonic thing before her. After the twentieth chop, she was now exhausted and her arms ached like she had spent the last few hours working at a punching bag.

Normally, she would be proud of herself for getting a good exercise in since it wasn't really her thing. But right now, all she wanted to do was hit herself in the head for exhausting herself. She needed all the energy she could to escape this place and in case if she ran into any danger.

Once she managed to catch her breath, she dragged her sore body around the area, searching and locating the three buttons that activated the door.

A button was found behind a stack of cans of bacon soup that lined the shelves near the Bendy cutout, which she held herself back from destroying. The cans were covered by a label with Bendy's face on them. He had his own food? Huh, imagine that. Holding the can in her hands, she cringed at the idea of eating this. "Bet this stuff is several years old at this point…"

Dropping the can, she waded through the ink to find more on the other side.

Luckily or…well unluckily, she found another one next to the Bendy shrine. And even worse, but somewhat positive, the last one was right next to the coffins in which she passed earlier.

Pressing both of them quickly, she rushed back through the ink as quickly as she could. Scooping up her shoes, she trudged over to the electric box and pulled the lever.

When the shutter rose completely, Jane spied the end of the door ahead was covered in various boards and the room on the other side was completely dark. What could be there?

As she took one step into the doorway of the small hall, Jane jumped when the lights came on suddenly and someone gasped for air on the other side of the boards. Gulping and clenching her hands, she slowly moved closer and managed to knock down the boards that blocked her way.

"You can do this…" she whispered under her breath. "Come on…"

Once her path was cleared, Jane marveled at the sight before her. A large billboard hung on the wall ahead, covered in music notes. The dark words were written along the white wall.

"The Music Department? Wow...for once, this isn't creepy."

Music was one thing that Jane enjoyed just as much as reading and drawing. While all the girls in her class were listening to the newest pop song on the radio, Jane was busy listening to film scores or soundscapes. It always filled her soul with relaxation and it also gave the book she was reading a little bit of life.

The music that was played in the Bendy cartoons always had Jane up on her feet and dancing like she didn't care. She could remember that time when she tried to show her dance routine that she created to Henry; however, the dance ended too soon when she slipped and fell when she tried to jump and click her heels. Of course that was an embarrassing trip to the ER when she ended up spraining her ankle. What made it worse that was Henry had captured the whole disaster on tape.

"Wonder if Henry still has that tape..." she mumbled as she moved closer to the giant billboard that hung in the center of the room. "Note to self, destroy it."

Speaking of tapes, Jane spied another tape cassette with Sammy's name on it. Another one? Deep down, she was kind of scared that she would hear Sammy speak to her again. But, she pushed those thoughts back as she pressed the play button.

 _"So first, Joey installs this ink machine over our heads. Then it begins to leak. Three times last month, we couldn't even get out of our own department because the ink had flooded the stairwell."_

Jane bit her lower lip. 'Sounds like I'm in that sort of situation.'

 _"Joey's solution? An ink pump to drain it periodically. Now I have this ugly pump switch right in my office. People in and out all day. Thanks Joey, just what I need. More distractions. These stupid cartoon songs don't write themselves, you know?"_

Jane folded her arms. "Geez...sounds really aggravated about that. Then again...doesn't sound like he's overly happy about writing music."

Turning away, she saw a few hallways to take and it made her wonder. 'Where do I go next?' she thought as she took the stairwell behind her to see a large amount of ink sitting at the bottom of the stairs. The door below had the sign 'exit' above it. "Wow." she marveled. "I guess this is what Sammy was talking about. There's no way I'm going to be able to get past that."

She noticed a large lever that read 'Power' and pulled it without a second thought. Suddenly the lights brightened, making the room much easier to see. "At least that helped a little."

Once she was done, she turned to go up the stairs to the right and found herself standing in a projection booth that overlooked a massive sound room filled with chairs, instruments, a video screen, and...a Bendy cutout.

"What the heck is up with these stupid cutouts?!" Jane ranted, feeling even more skeptical as the cutout stared at her from way down below. "What...is there one in every room or something?!"

The cutout just stared back at her, not moving, blinking, or breathing. Creepiest thing she had ever seen. Well...then again, besides Bendy himself lurking around.

She shook her head as she examined the projector that sat on the counter. There was a reel in the holder, making Jane even more curious about what was on it. Pressing the button, the projector came to life and a bright line shone on the screen ahead.

Sadly, nothing on the screen.

However, her disappointment slowly disappeared when she spied another tape player nearby.

Her brows furrowed together at the name on the tape. 'Norman Polk: Entry 1'

 _"Every day the same strange thing happens. I'll be up here in my booth, the band will be swinging, and then Sammy Lawrence marches in and shuts the whole thing down! Tells us all to wait in the hall! Then I hear him. He starts up my projector and then he dashes down the from the projection booth and down to the recording studio, like the little devil himself is was chasing behind._

"Yeah, sounds strange to me." Jane mumbled under her breath

 _"Few seconds later, the projector turns off. But Sammy, aw no, he don't come out for a long time. This man...he's weird. Crazy weird! I've got half a mind to talk to Mr. Drew about all of this, I really do. But then again...I have to admit...Mr. Drew has his own...particularities."_

The second the tape stopped, a loud noise came from the projector before the light disappeared, making Jane shriek a little. Her heart beat wildly in her chest while her breathing struggled to remain under control.

"I've got to get out of here..." she whispered under her breath as she slowly made her way downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, something caught her eye on the left hand wall. A spotlight shone on an old poster of the infamous female character, Alice Angel. Now that was something that made her smile.

Alice was one of the characters that Jane loved to watch. She always had such a lovely voice and playfully flirted with the little ink demon. She was a fun character and Jane enjoyed drawing her in her notebook.

"Why couldn't I deal with her instead of Bendy?" she mumbled to herself. "I bet Alice would be a much more pleasant kind of character to be around."

The sound of something dripping made Jane turn around to see the ceiling above the Music Department banner leaking ink, creating a large puddle of dark liquid. "That's not good. Wonder if that ink machine is filling the entire studio." She spoke out loud as she slowly made her way towards the leak to examine the hole.

Suddenly the puddle below exploded, splashing ink everywhere before the puddle slowly rose and created an inky like creature with arms and a head.

A loud shriek erupted from Jane's throat as she backed away from the creature, who was now crawling towards her like a horror movie monster. When her back met the wall, she trembled as the creature grabbed her ankle, squeezing roughly.

"Let me go!" she screamed as she began swinging the ax wildly like before. Ink splashed all over the floor and her clothes as the creature made some squelching sounds. When the pressure on her ankle lifted, Jane looked down to see that the ink creature was nothing but a puddle.

Her heart was practically a gazelle now as it raced inside of her chest while her breathing was ragged. Another monster?!

Okay, this place was **_officially_** the worst place on Earth.

When she found her footing, Jane carefully got off the wall and took a few steps forward. However, the ink that was now becoming a small pool, suddenly created at least five more inky blob creatures that dragged themselves towards her.

"Oh for the love of Pete…" Jane gasped under her breath, tightening her fingers around the handle of the ax.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Jane was nearly pulling her hair out from frustration and fear. At this point, Jane wasn't really sure what this feeling was. But whatever it was...it was driving her almost insane.

After she destroyed the various ink monsters, a hallway magically opened up, revealing more doors. Naturally, she traveled down the hall to discover a few empty offices, an ink filled stairwell (go figure), and Sammy Lawrence's office, which was blocked by…of course, _**MORE INK**_! At the back of the office was the switch that Sammy had described in the tape she found earlier. Why did it have to be in the office blocked by a massive ink pool?!

Then, after finding another tape cassette left by Wally Franks, she found out that they was a way to get into the supply closet for a clue. But…she had to find the keys that he had lost in a trashcan. So she dragged her feet back all the way back to the shrine that she located earlier to find the keys in a nearby can.

Once the keys were in hand, she ran back to the closet and found…yet another tape left by Sammy Lawrence.

Sammy spoke about a secret sanctuary of his that was hidden in the recording studio. The only way she could open it is if she played his 'song' on the various instruments that she could find in there. Following the directions, she raced back into the room and began playing them in the right order.

Sadly, nothing was happening and the door never appeared.

What was she doing wrong?!

Her entire body ached from all the running and frustration. Plus, that creepy Bendy cutout in the projection booth wasn't helping.

"Wait a second…how did it get up…oh never mind." She growled under her breath as she sunk down next to the piano "I can't keep worrying about those stupid cutouts…no matter how creepy they are."

When she dropped her arms to rest on the ground, her hand brushed against another tape player. "How many of these things are there?" she asked, picking it up to get a better look. "Seriously…maybe I should start doing cassette diaries."

Turning the player over, she saw the name Susie Campbell written on the tape.

"A female diary? Wonder who Susie is." She said, pushing down on the tape.

 _"It may only be my second month working for Joey Drew, but I can already tell, I'm gonna love it here. People seem to really enjoy my Alice Angel voice. Sammy says, she may be as popular as Bendy someday!"_

'Alice Angel's voice?'

 _"These past few weeks I have voiced everything from talking chairs to dancing chickens. But this is the first character I have really felt a connection with. Like she's a part of me. Alice and I, we're going places."_

When the tape stopped, Jane began to think back to what she knew about the Bendy cartoons.

"Susie Campbell? That name doesn't sound familiar." She mumbled softly to herself. "From what I remember…Susie…wasn't the name of the singer in the cartoon."

Being the odd fact holder she was, she remembered random Bendy cartoon facts that she studied when she was little because…well…she enjoyed that sort of thing when she was bored. Getting to research random facts and then getting to keep them to herself; it was like her own private secret.

However, in this case, she remembered that little fact about who played Alice, but at the same time, she couldn't recall the name of the voice actress who played her.

Weird.

"Sheep Sheep Sheep…" an eerie voice spoke from above, making Jane's heart skip a beat. "Troubled about my riddles, are you?"

Her eyes trained up to the ceiling as she rose to her feet.

"Oh my little sheep has wandered into my realm. She has defeated my disciples and solved a few of my clues. However, it seems that my little sheep has lost her way again." the voice taunted. It sounded familiar. Really familiar, but...it definitely didn't sound like a recording anymore.

Clutching the ax close, she managed to find her voice. "A-are you Sammy?"

A chuckle echoed back. "Clever little sheep, aren't you? I see that you paid attention to my name. You know the prophet's name."

Jane felt her body tremble with fear as she stood there. Oh gosh, not only was she trapped with a crazy ink demon, but now she was definitely sure that she was trapped in here with Sammy Lawrence, the ex music director, who was now a creepy cult leader for Bendy.

"Are you looking for me, Little Sheep? Have you come to discover the truth about our Lord and Savior? I can teach you all I know. I will be your Shepard and show you the way to salvation."

'Oh yeah, this guy has completely lost it.' she thought to herself before taking a deep breath. She had to figure out a way to escape this place.

"I'm trying to find my way out of this place." she spoke back calmly. "I fell through the floor and ended up here. I'm trying to reach..." she stopped herself before she could say the word 'outside'. This guy was a cultist who probably summoned Bendy. Last thing she wanted was to anger this guy. She had to be smart about this. "Uh...the Ink Machine on the top floor. Can you...show me the way?"

There was a long pause.

"You wish to go above my realm and explore the machine?"

Well that was one way to describe it. "Uh...yes. I...I saw...Lord Bendy come out of the machine awhile ago and he...he needed me." The whole sentence had her cringing. She definitely wasn't cut out for a real cult.

There was a small gasp from above. "You...you saw our Lord and Savior Bendy?"

"Y-yes." Jane answered, licking her lips. At least that part was true. However, she wasn't willing to find him again.

"Oh...my prayers have been answered! Our Lord has come to set us free!" he rejoiced loudly, making the room vibrate from the boom of his voice.

"Sooo...will you help me?" Jane asked, hoping that this wouldn't backfire. "Please?"

It took a few moments before Sammy let out a long sigh. "Very well then. But you still need to solve my riddle! You need to enter my Sanctuary in order to leave this place."

"But I played your tune! It didn't work!" Jane shouted back, feeling the frustration from earlier seep into her soul. "Where is it?!"

"Soooo impatient, my dear little Sheep." he sighed. "Unfortunately, you haven't earned my respect just yet."

"Respect?! Are you kidding me?!" she shouted back, feeling the adrenaline and fear coursing through her veins.

"My my...seems that my little sheep has a little spitfire in her." Sammy laughed. "How intriguing."

"I have tried everything! You couldn't give me another little clue to help me?! Hm?! I completed all of your other tests, doesn't that show for anything?!"

Another longer pause made Jane nearly fuming with anger.

"My Little Sheep, you have already heard that clue." he told the infuriated brunette. "You know the answer, you just can't remember it."

"What the heck does that mean?!"

"You'll have to figure the rest out on your own, My Little Sheep." he chuckled softly before his voice faded away.

"Sammy!" Jane called, only to be met with silence. "Sammy! Hey! Don't leave like that!"

There was no answer at all.

"Grrr! That's not help!" she yelled angrily as she began pacing back and forth through the studio. "I don't get it. I did everything he asked, so what am I missing?"

Her brain tried to focus on what she had learned before. Well...Sammy's previous tapes told her about how he had the drain switch in his office and how playing the song would open the Sanctuary. Then Wally's tape informed her about the keys for the supply closet. Susie's tape only told her about the actress's excitement getting to play the part. So what was left?

Just when she was about to throw the ax into a nearby chair, she paused when she spied the screen above the instruments. The projector screen! Then her eyes went straight to the projection booth.

"The projector!" she gasped before she rushed out of the room and up the stairs to hopefully find the answer to her issue.

Hopefully...was just a word.

* * *

 **Well that was different, huh? What do you think of the latest chapter? I have to say, that was a lot of fun getting to write Sammy. Well fear not, there will be plenty of Sammy ahead! He deserved more screen time, so therefore, I'm giving more screen time! Oh, and of course our favorite demon, Bendy! And boy and I'm eager to write more! I'll try to have another chapter out soon! lol**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! There will be much more talking in chapters to come. And of course more Bendy! Let me know what you think of this story, I'm curious if it sounds like I'm on the right track. I know my story will be different from the game, but I hope that I'm capturing the essence of the game if that makes sense. You guys are amazing and I love hearing what you have to say! Leave a review or message me privately if you have questions. Thank you everyone! I'm so excited for what is to come! ^_^**


	6. Chapter 6

**New year and new chpater! Yes indeed! lol I hope everyone is doing great! Holiday is over sadly and a busy one it was for me! I got a TON of Bendy stuff from friends and family for Christmas! Made my day! ^_^ Hope you all enjoyed your holiday! I'm sorry for taking so long for this chapter. My job has been a little nuts as well as the holiday schedule. Also, started playing a very exciting and addicting game called dragon age inquisition (go play it!) Plus...writer's block isn't fun at all. I hope to have more chapters done soon in the next few weeks or month.**

 **I was very eager to write this chapter and post it! Mainly because not only is there more Sammy, but a certain ink demon is coming back! For a little bit longer! Sooooo yay! And trust me, this is a long chapter! Almost 9,000 words! Now that's what I call a record! lol Hope this was worth the wait for you guys! i was hoping to have this out around my birthday or Christmas, but sadly it fidnt happen. Buuut to start off the new year, a new chapter! Yay!**

 **Also, I want to thank all of you who left reviews and for those of you who messaged me about the story. I really appreciated hearing from everyone! Seriously, I really enjoy reading your responses and your excitement for some scenes! It always makes me smile when I see them. Don't be afraid to leave a comment, I always try to reply to them! I hope you enjoy the latest chapter! It's a good one! Thanks guys!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bendy and the Ink Machine! That belongs to the Meatly only. I only own Jane.**

* * *

 **Review Response:** **Thank you to my lovely reviewers! You guys are amazing! Keep up the reviews! I get so excited when my email goes off! Definitely makes my day to hear from you guys! I hope you all enjoy the new chapter and keep putting in your theories! its very exciting to read what you're thinking what will happen to Jane. Trust me, there is a lot more to come!**

 **SpringBorn-** Yay! I'm so glad to hear that! I was worried that I wasn't writing him right. Either way, I still had a blast getting to write him! Especially in this chapter as well lol It was a lot of fun! Even if I only had five lines, I still had fun being a funny moment in the show. Getting to play a young couple who ran off stage to get heated, only to be seen by an elderly couple and then had to run back on stage, disheveled and half dressed hahaha

 **Snowwing-** You'll just have to wait and seeeeeee! But you may be onto something ;) Good theory!

 **The Forgetful Bel-** Wow you're just full of curiosity. In a good way, by the way. Seriously, your theories were intriguing to read. You're definitely thinking this through and I love it! You're definitely onto something. It does make you think whenever someone does a romantic pairing with Bendy and an OC. However, I've been slowly working on a way for the way this will go. Trust me, I've been going through several endings for this. Ohhhh Boris and Alice will be coming reeeeally soon! And hopefully it'll come out good!

 **TheAmazingAuthoress-** Awwww don't worry! I'm glad to see your review come in! Ohhhh you're already theorizing that! ^_^ And yeah, your story was starting off really well. I can't wait to see what happens next! Also, for Grace and Bendy to finally meet! Unless I'm behind and forgot to read it lol

 **Twins n' Fandom-** Duuuuude! haha I was too! The End is going to be...quite interesting. I was kind of sad with the ending of the game, but at the same time, I'm here to make it more exciting. I always await to see what other writers do with that ending.

 **Scarlet Quartz-** Aww thanks! I will! :)

 **PrincessEmag-** Dude thank you for the three reviews in a row lol made my day! ^_^

* * *

Jane screamed as she dodged an inky blob monster, who trying to hit her with its rapidly growing fist. She managed to duck out of the way and swung the ax at it, rendering it to just a puddle. But when one was gone, another blob appeared to the left, causing Jane to jump onto a chair. The ax swung down, but missed.

Hopefully _**was**_ just a word.

After she had managed to turn on the projector, she rushed back downstairs to play each instrument in order. Plucking the banjo strings once, then a quick tug at the bass's string, followed by a bang on the drum, and ending with a very hastily pound on the piano keys. The projector turned off above and the entrance to the 'sanctuary' was opened. She had turned the valve wheel and turned to leave, only to find herself surrounded by an army of ink blobs!

She screamed as she brought the ax down, destroying another ink creature. "I'm getting _**really**_ sick of you guys!"

Suddenly the chair beneath her was pulled out, making Jane fall back onto the hard wooden stage, knocking the ax out of her hands. Pain shot through her back as she lay there, staring up at the ceiling. But she didn't stay for too long when she felt cold liquid enclose around her ankle and travel up her leg. Rolling out of the way, Jane sliced another blob before crawling away towards the fallen ax that was on the other side of the stage.

Fear shot through her entire body. "Why me? Why me?!" she screeched when another blob attempted to grab her. "I hate my life...I hate it...I hate it..." Whimpering softly, she crawled behind the drum and stood up. Then she pushed against the drum until it came loose and rolled on top of two more blobs.

Grabbing the fallen ax, she swung at the last one, reducing it to a puddle of ink. "And stay there!" she yelled before making her way out of the music room, oblivious to the figure that hid in the projection booth that had watched her battle the whole time.

Jane rushed back to the main room where her dry shoes and backpack sat to be slipped them both back on. Then she ran back to Sammy's office door to find that it was still blocked by the ink. "What the heck? I thought that was it." she grumbled under her breath, tugging on her hair in frustration. What was with this place and its mysterious puzzles?

"Oh Little Sheep, there is still one more wheel to turn." Sammy's voice echoed through the studio again.

Whirling around, she tried to locate Sammy, but wasn't able to see him once again. "What do you mean there's one more?"

"There is still another pipe wheel down below the floor. Deep...below the ink."

"But where?! You're not helping me out here!" she shouted back before Sammy chuckled again.

"Again, you say that I'm not helping you. But I've helped you already so many times. Yet, you still haven't thanked me."

" ** _Thanked you?_** After your ink goons tried to kill me back there? Oh yeah, like I want to thank you for trying to attempt murder. Really nice there." Jane replied sarcastically. It was honestly a big surprise to herself that she was talking back like this to someone she barely even knew. But then again, with everything that's happened in the last few weeks, she didn't have many regrets in this moment. Even if it meant being sarcastic with a creepy cultist and music director, who could kill her if he wanted.

There was a long pause before Sammy spoke up again. "I wasn't the one who told them to attack. They don't appreciate intruders destroying our Lord Bendy, even if they are just...mere images of him. Especially after claiming that you're trying to locate our Lord Bendy."

'Ohhh...so that's why they attacked.' Jane thought to herself, regretting her attempts to burn and destroy every Bendy cutout in her path.

"Look...I'm sorry I tried to hurt them. I'm just a little...scared down here." Well...that sort of hit to her ego hurt. She had to think of some excuse, but at the same time, it wasn't fun admitting that she was scared to someone like Sammy. But if that would gather sympathy and aid her escape, then she would do it.

"Scared? But the Savior will come to rescue you."

'Ha! That's a good one.' Jane laughed mentally. 'Having a creepy inky demon rescuing you from a cultist who praises an animated character and sounds like he sacrifices people.'

"I know, but...I'm alone down here. I need to get out of here so I can find him upstairs. Please Sammy, I know you helped me before, but please. Just...help me find this last switch." Jane begged the cultist who was still invisible to her. For all she knew, she could be imagining Sammy's existence and voice. Now that would be quite a twist. Perhaps she was going insane.

"Very well then, My Little Sheep. There is a set a stairs right down the hall from here, hiding underneath a pool of ink, which you have now drained. They will lead you right down to a pipe wheel. Once you pull the switch and turn the wheel, you shall have your escape."

That easy? Was Sammy cooperating?

"Thank you." Jane told Sammy as she followed his directions and spied a set of ink covered stairs.

Once she made it downstairs, Jane found herself inside of an infirmary. T'he studio had their own infirmary? Huh, imagine that.' The beds were just a few splintered pieces of wood and some torn up sheets. _**Some infirmary they had down here.**_

When she located the switch and the pipe, she pulled the lever and turned to the pipe, only to find that the wheel to turn it off was missing.

"What the..." Jane breathed before anger surged through her. Sammy must have known this! This was just another game for him! No wonder he gave away the answer so fast. "Seriously? The wheel's missing too?" This day was just getting better and better.

A loud creaking behind alerted the young brunette, making her turn around to see a gate pull up. Another secret stairwell?

"And the secret passages keep coming. This is definitely not a fun house to me." Jane grumbled as she stomped down the stairs.

Suddenly a really strong smell entered her nostrils, making Jane cover her nose immediately. "Oh my gosh... _ **what is that smell**_?" she groaned, holding her nose. It smelled like burning oil mixed with garbage that was left inside of the disgusting dorm that she had visited for a party. Yeah, that room should have been under quarantine that night and probably the rest of the school year. But whatever this new smell was, it was beyond awful. It was worse than Henry's salmon patties that he made for Christmas every year.

She turned another corner and found herself staring at a message written on the wall ahead. _'We're all sinners down here.'_ The message was written on the wall like graffiti. Moving closer, she saw that she was in a tunnel filled with ink that seemed to travel for miles. Was this an ink sewer tunnel? Here?!

"An infirmary _**and**_ a sewer? What else could they possibly fit into this studio? Oh please don't tell me the wheel is in this stuff..." she dreaded as she leaned forward to try and see further down the pipe. To her left, she saw a few boards stretching across the hallway, blocking off anyone who tried to walk through the tunnel.

Suddenly a chubby blob creature rose up between the boards and stared at Jane. He had what seemed like a large nose and a small orange bowler hat perched on top of his head. Jane gasped, backing away slowly in case it attacked.

The blob lifted its hand and began waving at her, making Jane's eyebrows knit together in confusion. Slightly confused by this, she slowly waved back. "I'm waving at an ink blob...an ink blob wearing a hat." she mumbled to herself. "I must be going insane..."

Then the blob held up a small wheel, making Jane's eyes widen in shock. He had the pipe wheel!

Without really giving it a thought, Jane quickly jumped into the dark and stinky liquid, rushing towards the creature. But just when she made it to the boarded off area, the blob jumped back into the ink and began swimming away.

"Wait!" Jane yelled, her voice echoing through the pipes. "I need that!"

A hand rose from the ink and waved at her one more time before disappearing again.

"Come back here!" Jane shouted as she quickly chopped her way through the boards and sloshed through the ink. She could feel her shoes filling with ink again, making her feet freeze. After this, she was going to scrub her feet until they were raw and invest in a new pair of ink resistant shoes.

"Hello! Mr. Blob creature! Please give me back the pipe wheel!" she called out, hoping that it would come back. "If you are a Mister that is..."

After a few more feet, she found herself in what seemed to look like an engine room with tanks on either side of the walls. Between the tanks, at the back of the room, was the blob creature.

She hesitated for a moment, scared that it would attack her like the other blobs. But at the same time, if it wanted to hurt her, wouldn't they have already done it?

Jane cleared her throat. "Uh...hey." she started, unsure what to say to a blob creature. Then again, if she was able to speak to Bendy earlier, what made this any different? "Can...can I have that back, please?"

The blob tilted its head, the hat sliding to the side.

This felt really weird to speak to something like this. Of course earlier, she spoke to Sammy, who she had never even seen. Who knew if Sammy was a inky creature or a creepy cartoon character like Bendy.

"Uh...look...I...I need that wheel. I have to get out of here." she tried as she moved through the ink that was for sure soaking through her shoes. Why the heck did she put them back on before coming down here with them on? "Please?"

When she grew closer to the creature, it dove into the ink, disappearing completely. Along with the wheel. Her heart sunk when her only hope turned to ink. Hopefully _**was**_ just a word.

Suddenly the sound of splashing ink caught her attention as the creature reemerged. Jane stared at the little blob as it began waving the wheel around to get her attention.

"Hey...Mr. Blob. Please can you give me back my wheel?" she told the creature, moving towards it closely. Just like before, the blob disappeared and then reappeared on the other side of the tank, shaking the wheel in the air. Was it playing with her?

At this time, Jane wasn't really in any sort of mood to play monkey in the middle or hide and seek. She had to get out of here!

So naturally, she didn't think too much and began playing a strange game of Ring-Around-the-Rosie with the creature. Every time she got close, the blob would duck back into the ink only to reappear on the opposite side. If anyone watching could see this, there would be some sort of silly chasing music playing in the background.

Eventually, Jane slowed herself down, realizing that what she was doing was pointless. She collapsed against the nearest wall, gasping for air and fighting against tears of frustration. What was the point of this? Clearly, the creature wasn't giving it up. Now here she was, out of breath, her legs and feet soaked in ink, and strands of sweaty hair sticking to her face.

A splash nearby alerted Jane as she jerked her head towards the creature. It tilted what seemed to be its head as they held the wheel in both hands. At least it wasn't teasing her anymore.

Jane blew a strand of hair away from her face before clearing her throat. "Um...look...I know you probably can't understand me or maybe you're choosing not to. But...I need that wheel back. It's my only way out and I...I have to get back home." The blob tilted its head, but didn't say anything back. "This place may be your home now...or wherever you were from before this place changed." Jane let out a short laugh, thinking about this place when it changed. "Anyways, there's people waiting for me back at home. They don't know that I'm here...or where I am exactly."

As she spoke, Jane felt tears welling up in her eyes at the thought of Henry never knowing that she was down here or that her parents would ever know what happened to her. Then again, would they even really care if she died in here? Well...maybe a little. "Uh...I just want to get out of here...and let them know that I'm okay. If there's anything I can do...just...please..." By now, Jane could feel herself crying.

The blob sat there staring back.

Jane let out a dry laugh, shaking her head. "Who am I kidding? Of course you can't understand me. I don't even understand me. I don't get why I came here looking for answers."

What she didn't realize was that the blob was moving closer to her, slightly curious by her behavior.

She wiped her tears away, her breathing slightly shaky. "I don't even know why I'm crying right now. Heh, I'm crying in front of a creature made of ink..."

A small groan sounded next to Jane. She looked down to see the creature now only a few feet away from her side. In its hand, they held a inky covered cleaning rag. Her eyes trailed down to the rag that the blob held out to her.

Was this a peace offering?

The blob shook the rag towards her and Jane cautiously took it. When it was in her hands, the blob touched their, well what seemed to be their eyes.

"Oh? Is this for me?" she asked, earning a silent nod from the the blob. "Oh...well thank you." Finding a clean spot on the rag, she used it to dab the corners of her eyes. It was strange, but she was happy to see that the creature was being courteous.

Something cold touched her arm this time, making Jane jump at the freezing chill of the creature touching her. The blob jumped slightly, but continued to pat her arm.

She stared down at the blob before looking at the wheel in its hand. Of course, she could just steal the wheel from the blob at this time, but for some reason, she stopped herself. This thing was trying to comfort her. Who was she to steal something when this creature was showing her kindness?

The blob nodded its head before pulling away from her. The creature held the wheel for a moment before pointing to her back.

Confused, Jane tried to figure out what it was pointing to and looked over her shoulder. "What? Is there something on my back?"

Moving closer, the blob moved around her and picked up something that was sticking out of the ink. Then it handed the item to Jane. It was a small wooden triangular prism. Using her hands, Jane brushed away the ink until a few letters were legible.

"J...Jack...Fain..." she read before meeting the blob's eyes. "Jack Fain. Is that you?"

The blob nodded excitedly, the little orange hat on his head bouncing like a cartoon character's head bobbing like a bobble head.

"Oh...well...Jack. I guess you can understand me." she began as he continued to nod. "I need that wheel to get out of here. Can I have it back?"

The nodding ceased and then he shook his head from side to side, making Jane's hopeful expression fall. 'Great. Now what?'

"But Jack...I can't get home without this." she pleaded. "Is there any way that I can take this and bring it back when I'm done?"

Jack shook his head again, holding the wheel close to him.

"Well...I'm not sure what else I can do for you..." she mumbled, scratching her head.

Jack hesitated for a moment before pointing to her back once again. She glanced behind her, but didn't see anything. Suddenly Jack was beside her and pointed to the backpack strap on her shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked, watching Jack move around to her backpack. He pointed to the zipper and Jane pulled it to the side. Jack then held up the wheel and then pointed at her backpack. Jane's brows knit together as she tried to understand what Jack wanted. "Uh...you want to put the wheel in my backpack?" Jack shook his head before holding up the wheel, pointed to the backpack, and then cross his arms.

Suddenly a light bulb went off in her head. "Oh! You want to trade something for the wheel!"

Jack nodded quickly as he bounced in the ink a little. That made Jane smile for the first time since she fell through the hole.

Taking her backpack off, she searched through for something that she could trade. Most of the items were ones that she needed, such as her umbrella, flashlight, and an extra t-shirt, which would definitely come in handy later on. But what else could she use?

Eventually, her fingers brushed over something and she pulled it out. It was an old college ball cap that she had bought on the first day of school. It wasn't really worn much. Come to think of it, that was the only day she wore it. It was a simple white hat with a purple brim on the bill and a giant black 'O' on the fading white dome. Osborne University. A place she would never go back to again.

She shook off the dust and held it out to Jack. "It isn't much, but would another hat work?"

Jack examined the hat in her hand for a few moments, leaning from one side to the other to examine it. Mentally, Jane was pleading that he would like it and make the trade. The young woman stared at the blob for a few moments, watching his beady little golden eyes.

Quick like a snake, the little blob snatched the hat out of her hands, making Jane stumble back. In one hand he held the hat, looking over it as his inky hand covered the fading white in black goop. In the other, he now held the wheel in a slack grasp; as if he was losing interest in the old toy and was much more intrigued by the new one.

She could've taken the wheel right now, ran off with it and escaped. However, she stood still, waiting to see what he would do. It wasn't really who she was. She was the sort of person who tried to be polite as possible even if she was slightly awkward. She was the kind who wanted to kill them with kindness even if she was aching on the inside. She was shy, but she was kind.

Suddenly Jack jerked his head up and slowly handed her the wheel. Shocked by this, Jane met his eyes. Jack shook it slightly before pushing it into her hand. When she took the heavy metal into her tiny hand, she stared at the wheel.

It actually worked? **_Really worked?_**

Something cold touched the top of her hand and there it was. Jack's inky covered hand touching hers. Was he being...friendly? The first friendly person...well inky person...she had met in here? A strange line on his face slowly turned into a curved line. Was it a smile?

"Thank you." Jane whispered to him before Jack took his hand back.

Gripping the hat in his hand, he placed it on top of his little orange bowler. The hat threatened to fall, but it managed to stay where it was placed. Then he waved to Jane before diving back into the ink.

She stood there for a moment, waiting and watching to see if he would return, but Jack never came back. "I...I guess this is goodbye then." she mumbled before making her way out of the tunnels, her feet dragging through the deep dark ink.

When she made it to the exit, Jack suddenly reappeared in front of her. Jane stepped back in surprise, clutching the wheel close.

Did he change his mind? Was he coming back to kill her after giving her the chance to escape?

Jack's arms were held close to his body before he extended them, holding up something to her. It was another tape player.

She slowly moved towards the blob again, carefully looking at the tape. "Is that...yours?"

Jack nodded excitedly before pushing the play button on the tape.

 _"I love the quiet, and that's hard to come by these busy times."_ a gruff voice began, making Jack smile. " _And yeah sure it may stink to high heavens down here. But it's just perfect for an old lyricist like me. Sammy's songs always got some bounce, but if I didn't get away once in awhile, they'd never have any words to go with them._ _So I'll keep my mind a-singin' and my nose closed."_

When the tape stopped, she met Jack's now very sad look. He had never spoken a word to her. Did he lose it when he...

Jack lowered the tape and looked down.

Jane's lips lowered into a frown before she moved closer to Jack. "That was...you before this happened?" she began, earning a slow nod this time. She couldn't help but feel bad for the chubby ink blob. He had a voice and then lost it. How did he turn into this? Was it the ink machine? Sammy? Bendy? Who could've rendered this poor man to this lonely little blob who now remained down here in the inky sewers?

Her heart dropped a little when realization hit her. Did he have a family outside of this place? Did they know where he was? Or...did they think he died?

This could be her. She could be like Jack. A poor lonely soul. Trapped inside the depths of the old studio, changed into a creature who not only is made of ink...but a creature without a voice. How could he call for help? Scream? To even say a prayer to escape? Oh gosh...how devastating and cruel.

Jack seemed to noticed the tear that was rolling down her cheek and quickly wiped it away, snapping Jane back into reality.

"Oh...I...I'm sorry. Thank you for that." she whispered, wiping another tear away before looking at Jack. "Thank you for sharing your voice with me."

Jack gave her a weak smile before patting her hand again. Then he tried to give her the tape player.

"Oh no no, you need to keep that. I can't take it with me." she tried to tell Jack. "You have to keep this. It's your voice."

He insisted on giving it to her as he pushed the player into her hands, shaking his head.

Jane's eyes filled with tears as she stared into the golden ovals that stared back. "Jack..."

Once it was in her hands, Jack moved over to the nearest wall and began writing something on the wall with his finger. Slowly the words began to appear in ink before her. Like his finger was an old fountain pen. When he was done, he moved away from the wall.

'Keep it. My life is here now. Listened to it for too long now. Yes, I will lose it. But at least my voice will belong to someone who will listen. A kind soul who shared kindness. Remember me when you get out.'

Jane felt the tears rolling down her cheeks again as she finished his message.

Jack smiled at her once more before waving at Jane, dropping into the ink once more.

She waited for him to reappear as she watched the ink droplets drip down the wall like raindrops on a window. Rereading the message a few times, she took in his words, imagining that gruff voice speaking to her. Clearly, Jack wanted to be remembered as the man who he once was. Touched by his action and words, Jane gave the place one more glance over before climbing out of the sewer.

Almost in like a trance, she climbed back up the stairs to reattach the wheel onto the pipe. Then she turned it, hearing the ink rush through. She then went back upstairs to Sammy's office and pulled the lever in his office. Sliding the zipper back, she put the tape player into her backpack.

Her heart ached for poor Jack. For now, he would remain in the sewers. Silent and a dark creature created in the studio.

As she made her way towards the stairwell, Jane failed to see what was coming next as something hard smashed against her head. Her body crashed to the floor and her vision went blurry for a moment as she struggled to keep her eyes open. A pair of feet stood next to her head.

"Sheep sheep sheep." a familiar and distorted voice spoke, making Jane tried to turn her head upwards.

Above her was a dark figure and in the figure's hand was what looked to be a shovel or a very large dustpan. And on his face was...what looked like to be Bendy's face. "Rest your head, it's time for bed." the voice faded out before Jane slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

"There we go now, nice and tight." a distorted voice spoke through the ringing in Jane's head. Her vision was blurred as she tried to see what was happening. Something cold grabbed her chin, jerking her head up, making Jane wince at the pain shot thorough like a bullet. "We wouldn't want our sheep roaming away now, would we? No...we wouldn't."

The dark twisted form in front of her became clearer to the point were Jane wasn't sure if it looked better without seeing it.

Before her stood a tall and slender...creature. Dark ink covered its skin completely. It wore long dirty cream colored overalls and...a large cutout of Bendy's head with a mouth hole so the creature could talk. The creature was definitely not like Jack or the other blobs. No, this one reminded her of Bendy, but more human-like.

"Wakey wakey, Little Sheep. I believe it's time that we spoke." the creature spoke, tilting its head to the side, watching her through the mask.

Her head throbbed in pain as she tried to wake herself up. A dull thudding at the back of her head made Jane wince in pain. "Owww..." She tried to hold her head, but found her hands tied above her head to a wooden post.

"I must admit I am...honored...you came all the way down to see me." The voice sounded very familiar. A male voice that she had heard before. As she examined the creature closely, she felt her blood run cold when she spied the ax that she had carried throughout the studio, being held and toyed with by the thing before her. "After watching you solve my puzzles, explore my realm, and discover the truth of this place, I have to say...I'm awfully **_impressed_**."

Even if her eyes ached, they widened in shock when she realized who she was standing in front of. "S-Sammy?"

A small chuckle escaped his lips. "Ah...so you recognized me. I have to say...I am not the man I once was."

Well that was definitely right. If he was human before, there wasn't a single inkling that showed that he was now. Sammy was now some inky like creature, just like Bendy.

His dark finger ran along Jane's jaw, making her shiver, turning her head away. "Not only are you smart, you are...awfully fetching. A beautiful...tender...sheep." he awed, while Jane gagged at his flirtation. "It almost almost makes what I'm about to do seem...cruel. But the believers must honor their savior. I must have him notice me..." Sammy spoke, pulling away to walk to a nearby post, resting the ax against it. Right next to it was her backpack.

As the haze in her brain lessened, Jane shook her head gently. "Wh-what? What are you talking about? I-I mean..."

Sammy turned to face her. "Oh my sweet and strangely beautiful little sheep." He cooed, moving closer. "I'm afraid that I'll have to use you for a sacrifice."

Jane's blood ran cold while Sammy clapped his hands. "Oh how exciting this will be for me! The greatness of our lord will be coming down to claim my offering and then will embrace me."

"Uhhh...from the tapes I've heard and the things that you're saying, you've got a really creepy stalker-ish way of 'pleasing your lord'."

"Well why shouldn't I? He is our savior. He is going to set us free!"

"Free from what?" Jane cautiously asked, her eyes darting back and forth between the ax and Sammy.

Sammy lowered his arms slowly. "Why, you ask? Clearly, you can see how I appear."

'A creepy cult leader with an unhealthy obsession for a cartoon character, yeah I see.' She thought sarcastically.

"I am nothing but a hollow creature. A creature who was once human. A human with a real life. A life...where I had an actual body." Then his fists clenched. "This...inky carcass in which my soul has taken over."

It was honestly...almost sad to hear this. Sammy was human before this, just like Jack. Probably knew Henry all those years ago. Wrote music downstairs while Henry animated. And then...once Henry left, that's when Sammy probably put this insane notion in his mind and possibly...became an ink creature like Jack and Bendy.

Jane bit her lower lip, trying to think of a way to escape this situation. Her hands were literally tied and this psycho song writer was ready to kill her over a... _ **is that another summoning circle at her feet**_?! Once again, she was not only near a deadly circle, but she was standing inside of it.

'Oh gosh...I'm going to die at the hands of this creep.' Jane mentally dreaded while Sammy was muttering some nonsense that she could barely understand.

"I...I'm sorry..." she tried to say, trying to remain calm. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

Sammy slowly turned to face her, the mask staring back into Jane's eyes.

She had to try and talk to him like she did with Jack. As calm and sensitive as possible. "Look...I'm not sure...what I can do for you." Jane started, trying to think of something to get Sammy to avoid sacrificing her. "But...if there is anything that I can do, I can try to help."

He made his way over to her, lifting a hand up to her face. "Oh my little sheep. My sweet little sheep, you have bewitching beauty and a sharp tongue. It's a shame to see you be taken. But...it has to be done. You can't help me. Our Lord Bendy is the only one who can."

'Maybe I can use that to my advantage.' Jane thought to herself. It had been an long time since she flirted with anyone. Well...if that even was flirting so long ago.

"Then don't use me as the sacrifice." she began, tilting her head down and then rolling her eyes up to meet his in a way that she hoped was innocent. "If you're...doubting yourself, then don't do this."

Sammy tilted his mask face to the side as his inky hand rubbed her cheek. "But I must...I must do this. I have to release myself..."

"Then release me." Jane pleaded, trying her best to persuade him. "If I bewitch your curiosity, then let me help you. I hate to see anyone...like this...in pain." At least she was truthful about that part. Seeing anyone like Jack...stuck in this way...it was a horrifying way to live.

Sammy let out a sigh, shaking his head. "It's a terrible pain..."

"I-I could help you speak to Bendy." she lied this time. "I was met him before I came down here. I could talk to Bendy and tell him to turn you back."

The news made Sammy's hand freeze on her cheek. "You saw the Savior?"

Jane nodded, wincing at the pain in her wrists as they strained against the ropes.

"Was he as majestic as I dreamed?"

'Majestic? Oh yeah, the kind of majestic that tries to kidnap you.' she thought bitterly.

"Yes, the almighty Savior was very... _ **majestic**_." she hesitated over her words. Honestly, she was cringing at her own words. This cult thing was the most...insane thing she had ever seen or heard of. "He can help you. I know he will."

Heck, Jane had absolutely no idea if Bendy knew how to turn him back!

"Please...just...let me go and we'll try to find a way to cure this. And if we can...we can leave this place...together."

At the word together, Sammy moved closer to her. "Together? You mean..."

Biting her lip, she nodded again. "Yes...we can. If you free me now, we can find Bendy and change you back." She closed her eyes and lowered her head. 'Make it count.' Jane told herself before opening her eyes again. "So I can see what the man behind the mask looks like."

The Bendy mask stared back into Jane's eyes, making her heart beat rapidly in fear. "Oh..."

Jane licked her lips before continuing with her lie. "I...I kept wondering what you looked like the whole time we spoke. You intrigued me."

"The last time we spoke, you were yelling at me." he spoke grimly, as if he wasn't taking the bait. "You've insulted me too."

Thinking of something quickly, she tried to figure out something to fix it. "But that's because you kept making me run around like that. I know you wanted to share your love for puzzles, but...I was..." she swallowed down the lump in her throat. "Eager to see you. I wanted to meet the man who wrote all of the music for my favorite cartoon." And that part was kind of true too, but still. "I was wondering if you were as handsome as they said."

What...the...heck was coming out of her mouth?! She sounded like some overly desperate admirer. Why was she doing this again? Oh yeah, to find her escape.

After a few silent moments, Sammy lifted a dark hand and moved it towards the ropes. "You...you want to see me?"

'Yes! Almost there!' she thought as she nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes I do. I want to see if you're really handsome under there. You just have to help me out and find Bendy."

Suddenly, he stopped his hand. "I...I can't do this."

"Yes you can! Just let me go and I'll lead you to Bendy!" Jane attempted to persuade him further as he began taking his hand away from the ropes. "You won't be able to find him without me. I'm the only one who knows where he is. Please, Sammy."

There was a pause before Sammy lowered his hand, tilting his head to the side again.

"Sammy?" she whispered, afraid at what he would do. Jane wished that she could see what was going on in his eyes, to know if he was looking sad, angry, or confused.

"I...I...not now. I simply cannot let this go. I am truly sorry, My Little Sheep. For our Lord is calling to us." he sighed, touching Jane's cheek again. "But...the time of sacrifice is at hand. And then I will finally be free from this prison. This...inky dark abyss I call a body."

Those words made Jane's blood run cold and her head began frantically shaking. "No no no! Sammy! Please no! Don't do this!" she cried hysterically, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "I don't wanna die! Please!"

"My Little Sheep...the time has come." he spoke in an ominous tone that said that death was imminent. When Jane opened her mouth to scream, a loud crash sounded above, making her heart sink further into her stomach. "Shhh...quiet! Listen. I can hear him crawling above." Sammy shushed, lifting his spread out hands and wiggling his fingers. "Crawling! Let us begin. The ritual must be completed. Soon he will hear me. He will set us free."

"Wait! No! Please Sammy! Don't do this!" Jane pleaded, tears now streaming down her face, streaking through the ink stains on her cheeks. Fear spiked through Jane's body when she realized that Bendy was on his way. He was coming to get her! Not again!

Clasping his hands together, Sammy began chanting his creepy rhyme. "Sheep sheep sheep, it's time for sleep. Rest your head, it's time for bed. In the morning, you may wake or in the morning, you'll be dead."

Jane broke into a cold sweat when the shutter ahead began to leak ink. "Oh no…Sammy…please let me go!"

"Hear me, Bendy!" Sammy shouted over Jane's cries as he turned towards the shutter. "Arise! Show your face and take this tender sheep!"

When the a puddle began to form in front of the shutter, Bendy's contorted body slowly rose from the ink. The sinister grin set upon his lips.

"My Lord! You have come!" Sammy nearly squealed, moving towards the monstrous creature.

Jane pulled at her bonds, trying to free herself.

However, the sinister grin on Bendy's lips faltered. "Ohhh not you again! Didn't I tell ya to back off with this…" he trailed off, rotating his wrist as if he was trying to find the right description. "This...uh...what do ya call it?"

"Sacrifice?" Sammy finished, trying to sound helpful.

He pointed at Sammy and nodded. "Yeah yeah, whatever sacrifice thing. Look, I know I've been gone for awhile but-"

"But My Lord! You've been gone for over a year!"

"I know but you…" he trailed off again. "Really? That long?" Bendy questioned, staring at the ex music director.

Sammy nodded his head, the mask bobbing as he did so. "Why yes, you were gone for so long. I had to control your disciples while you were missing! It took a lot of convincing but I was able to control your sheep!"

Every word that came out of Sammy's mouth just showed how utterly insane he was. This was the kind of maniac that people would see on TV crime shows or horror movies. And the fact that she was tied up, about to be sacrificed, watching a monster that was summoned from the depths of animation ink, talking to an ex employee that became a cultist…made this whole thing sound like the nightmares that haunted her dreams.

" _ **My sheep** **?**_ Since when do I have…sheep?" Bendy asked, breaking Jane away from her thoughts.

"Oh! How silly of me." Sammy sighed, shaking his head. "Your creations. They are awaiting your return. Waiting for their orders from their savior!"

Bendy rolled his shoulders a little. "I don't...remember having any..." Bendy trailed off when his head inclined in Jane's direction. "You..."

Jane's eyes widened in fear, shaking her head frantically. "No…"

"I've been looking everywhere for you." Bendy growled, limping towards Jane, who began struggling against her bonds frantically. "What are ya doing to me, Toots? Huh? I wasn't going to hurt ya!"

Jane managed a glare as she licked her dry lips. "Funny, says the creature who picked me up like King Kong and tried carrying me off."

His head tilted to the side in confusion. "King who?"

"Oh My Lord!" Sammy interrupted, stumbling closer to us. "I see that you found my offering!"

Bendy turned around to face the 'man' who literally worshiped him. "Offering? _**What offering?**_ "

Sammy strolled past Bendy and held out his arms, gesturing to Jane. "Taa-daa! A perfectly pure sheep waiting to be sacrificed. I found her wandering the studio. She destroyed several of your followers and your faces throughout the studio. So I brought her here so you could deal with her yourself!"

'Oh dear gosh…not this again.' Jane dreaded, her expression evident that she was done with all of this. She was no cult follower and she definitely wasn't a sacrifical type!

"What?!" Bendy barked, making Sammy back off in fear as the demon loomed over the shorter ink creature. "What do you mean she is an offering?!"

"W-well My Lord, she is the sacrifice that brought you back. If it weren't for this beautiful creature, you wouldn't be standing here before us."

Bendy slowly turned towards the hyperventilating Jane. Her heart was racing a hundred miles an hour and fear ran up her spine. Her escape was even farther away now. Not only was Sammy not letting her go, but now she was a potential sacrifice for Bendy.

"Is she now?" he mumbled, looking at her from head to toe, sizing her up. "I suppose you have a small point there."

"I managed to pull myself away from any improper thoughts." Sammy continued, rubbing his hands together. "But it's awfully hard not to claim her. I haven't seen someone so lovely…smart…and beautiful."

If someone had told Jane that sort of compliment, she would be both confused and at the same time, flattered, mainly because compliments were scarce to her. Well besides Henry being amazed with her drawing talents.

Also…being called beautiful by a creepy cultist probably wasn't the best thing to happen.

"Claim her?!" Bendy growled, clenching his gloved fists as he grit his teeth.

Sammy immediately held up his hands, backing away slowly. "My Lord…I wasn't going to! I swear!"

"Don't even try to defend yourself!" Bendy yelled back before turning towards Jane, who shrunk back into the pole she was tied to.

He moved close enough to be a foot away. When Bendy lifted his hand towards Jane's face, she shut her eyes tightly. The cold chill of the ink of his hand touched her cheek.

"Hey…Doll." Bendy spoke a little softer, making Jane slowly open her eyes again. "Come on, don't be scared. Look at me. I'm not gonna hurt ya."

Even if she was completely frightened, Jane turned her head to face him. Her eyes then widened in shock when she caught of glimpse of what seemed to be a pair of onyx and crystal colored eyes that seemed to peer out from under the massive amounts of ink that dripped down his head.

"Are you okay, Toots?" Bendy whispered, making closer to examine her face.

Jane tried backing away, but the post prevented this.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, turning her head from side to side, examining it with those dark glassy eyes. "Now's not the time to be quiet. Come on, Toots. Tell me what hurts. I know you took a nasty fall down the stairs earlier. You were kind of reckless when you did that."

Jane's lip quivered as she tried to find her voice. Was he being...concerned? "The…the back of my head hurts…" she whimpered softly, trying to keep herself calm.

Bendy's eyes narrowed. "Did he hurt ya?"

Jane didn't even glance at Sammy. "He hit me with something hard...to knock me out."

She wasn't sure why she even told Bendy. After all, he was a creature that could hurt her. But…something in his eyes…those dark…glossy…pools of ink, almost told her that she could trust him in that moment.

Bendy slowly turned his head, removing his hand from Jane's face.

Sammy held up his hands in defense instantly. "Now…My Lord…"

"You hurt her?!" Bendy seethed, making Sammy back up.

"Wait…no! I didn't hurt her!" Sammy tried to protest. "She…she was trying to escape! I couldn't let her leave so-"

"So you decided to hit her, knock her out, and think to use her as a sacrifice?!" the demon growled, moving towards the ex music director.

Jane hung there, shocked that this news really upset the cartoon demon. Why was he so mad about this? Of course, there was a part of her that was happy that Bendy was fighting Sammy for the hit she took. Especially since he was a demon that just met her. But still...was he on her side or just giving an excuse to play a hero for a moment.

Sammy took another step back. "But My Lord-"

"Enough with the 'My Lord' stuff! I'm not some figure for you to praise!" Bendy yelled as the room around him became dark and ink began spreading around him, covering the walls and floors. "You…tried to hurt her..."

Jane's eyes widened in horror as the room darkened and Bendy's body began to grow. A loud crack echoed through the room as limbs began growing and his back began contorting in a grotesque way that had her cringing. What was happening?!

"Please...don't hurt me..." Sammy begged as he backed into a corner as Bendy loomed over him. "I did all of this for you! How can you betray me like this?!"

Jane whimpered in fear as she closed her eyes. The last thing she wanted to see was Sammy die. Especially by the hands of the Ink Demon himself.

Suddenly the rope holding her hands dropped, making Jane's sore arms fall to her sides. When her eyes slowly opened, she saw the rope at her feet and her were wrists freed. She looked back up to see a large inky claw above her head. Bendy had stretched his arm clear back to her and must have cut her free.

Before she could say anything, Bendy growled. "Run."

"Wh-what?" she whispered through the darkness.

"What are you stupid, Doll?! Get outta here! Run!" he roared, shaking the entire room to the core.

Without a second thought, she was gone. Snatching up the ax and her backpack as she ran, Jane rushed past Bendy and Sammy. Jane rushed down the hallway, ducking under the boards that blocked her road in various ways while she managed to cut the ax into a few others. A few cuts were shaky and missed due to the fear racing through her veins. She had to get out of here now!

Banishing the idea of clearing her path, Jane began climbing through the boards, scratching herself on a few splinters. It hurt of course, but the nothing could stop her from running.

As she rushed down the hall and turned the corner, she could hear Sammy's last words.

"No! My Lord! Stay back! I am your prophet! I am your...NOOOOOOOOOO!" Sammy wailed before his voice faded out into dead silence.

* * *

 **Gotta say, loved and hated this chapter. Loved writing the Sammy and Bendy scene! Also writing the Jack Fain part had me tearing up. I liked the cute hat on his head and I hated to see him die when Henry tried to get the wheel back. So I wanted to write something a little more emotional. However, editing and writing small parts in between that drove me insane. But...I'm happy with this! Seriously! And I can't wait to write more! Hope you guys liked it! I can't wait to write what happens next! The next chapter will have some differences that hopefully will excite you! I feel that Bemdy didn't hace enough screen time, so I'm adding stuff!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review! I want to know what you guys thought of this! I tried to capture Sammy and Bendy the best that I could and I hoped that I accomplished that goal! I'll try to write the next chapter as soon as I can! Thank you everyone for your support and I hope you all have a great year! ^_^**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! I hope you are all well! Things with me are going pretty good. Busy with my job and life, but I'm still writing on the side. And of course, playing lots of Dragon Age Inquisition! (If you haven't had a chance to try and play it, it's a real blast! Trust me! lol) Also, just recently in Bendy news, Joey Drew came out with a new tape recording saying that Bendy is coming back! Ahhhh! I'm sooooo excited to hear this!**

 **Anyways, this chapter will be awesome! I know it will be because Bendy and Jane will finally have time to talk! Why did he save her? What are Bendy's intentions? What is going on with all of this? Well...some things will be answered! I know you've all been waiting for this and I'm thrilled to finally share it with you! I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **On a side note, to everyone who reviewed, messaged me, and put me on their favorites or alerts, you guys seriously made the last month so exciting for me! I swear my email was going off at least three times a week with someone who did something involving the story. I was going through some stressful times at work these past few weeks and it's been a rough time. However, just reading the reviews and messages made my day better. Thank you to everyone who made me feel better. I hope that you'll enjoy this new chapter! Don't be afraid to write a review or a message to me. I love hearing from you guys and what you think. I always try to reply when I get a chance. Enjoy guys!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bendy and the Ink Machine. That belongs to the Meatly. I only own Jane.**

* * *

 **Review Responses: Dude! Seriously! Seeing review after review come up made me so excited! This was literally the highlight of my first week of the new year! I loved reading them! Thank you so much! I hope to hear from you all soon! ^_^**

 **SpringBorn-** Oh yeah, lots of sadness and crazy moments, but I'm glad you enjoyed it! I was hoping it was going to catch everyone's attention!

 **MeliLouiseNorth-** haha right?! I loved writing his parts! He's completely INSANE! Crazy characters are fun to write!

 **Eric Cartman Forever-** Yay! I'm happy to hear this! I hope you like you'll enjoy this new one!

 **GameFan 533-** It's good to be back! Trust me, I'm so happy to be writing again! I really appreciate hearing that. Seriously. After I read this, I honestly started thinking about it. But at the same time, I was eager to put both parts in. When I wrote the Jack scene, I thought the chapter was too short. Then when I wrote the part where Sammy captured her, I felt that it was too short as well. I appreciate your honestly. Maybe later on I'll split them apart in the future. Yay! I'm glad I did that scene good! I felt that he didn't deserve to die! Ohhhhh I like that. But...I can't saaaaay ;) I don't want to give too much away. There will be something coming in this chapter!

 **TheAmazingAuthoress-** Awww I'm glad you did! I wasn't sure how it was going to convey, but I seriously didn't want him to die! I mean, all he did was take the wheel, why did Henry have to kill him?! So I wanted to let him live. Him and his adorable hat lol Yay! I was so excited to write the part with Bendy and Jane, but I believe you'll love this one even more ;) Awww I'm sure you can do it! I'm just a sucker for romance novels and fanfics ^_^

 **Sage S. Adoren-** Aww thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

 **ShadsyStarWish-** Yay! Thank you! I'm beyond thrilled to hear that! You are too sweet! ^_^ I loved writing Sammy! It was fun! lol Also Bendy is going to be a lot of fun to write further into the story. He's definitely going to have a bigger part in future chapters! Doodlers unite lol I'm glad that you find a connection with Jane.

 **PrincessEmag- **Thank you! hahaha yeah I knew it was her story the second you mentioned Grace lol she is awesome too!

 **Googlyeyesonanecklace- **Oh I plan on continuing! :) And you'll have to wait and seeee lol

* * *

Jane gasped for air as she rested her back against the wall, sliding down slowly. Her arms and legs trembled while her lungs felt like they were going to burst as they burned for fresh air. Not to mention the sweat that was mixing with the bits of dried ink on the her skin; which was disgusting to say the least. And above all else, the fear was still racing through her veins like a wild current in the river.

Once Jane had escaped Sammy's hideout, she ran through several hallways and down a few flights of stairs until her legs gave out. She had fought her way through a couple of ink blobs and dodged a few wooden caskets that lay around the shop. Sadly, the ax was now in pieces somewhere far away after Jane tried to cut herself out of another mess. Now she lay in a corner, behind a large wooden shelf, keeping herself hidden from anything else that could kill her.

Speaking of murder, _**everything**_ in this studio was trying to kill her! First Bendy, then those blob like creatures, and now one of the old employees who had completely lost his mind was trying to sacrifice her to the ink demon himself!

Why did she have to come here, she kept asking herself. She could've avoided this completely if she had just let that letter be thrown away. But no, she had to be the curious one and search for answers and discover what Joey's purpose of reaching out to Henry was.

Joey...where was he? Was he actually here? Did she get the address wrong?

Or...was this some sort of sick trick to trap Henry here?!

Jane's stomach dropped at the thought. Oh gosh...what if she was tricked into coming here? She took the bait that was meant for Henry and now she was trapped here to face her doom? But...she felt just as sick to see Henry in this situation. What if it had been Henry to be stuck here? To be stalked by Bendy, Sammy, and the blob creatures. He could be really hurt or even...

Jane hugged herself as she tried to distract her mind. She couldn't think about that. Henry was at home, safe and sound. But here she was, trapped down below several floors beneath the studio and being hunted by inky creatures.

"Why is this happening to me?" she sobbed, feeling the tears fill her eyes again. "It's always me. It always happens to me. What did I ever do to deserve this? " She didn't feel like consoling herself to stop crying. What was the point at this point? Yes, crying was pointless, but at the same time, it felt good to let all of her emotions go. In this case, it was definitely needed. "I just wanna go home..."

"Toots!" Bendy's voice echoed through the halls. "Hey! Where did you go?"

She gasped softly at the sound of the familiar voice. 'Oh no, not him.'

"Come on out! He's gone now!" His voice sounded normal again. It wasn't so deep anymore, instead, it sounded like the voice she had heard before.

'Did he change back?' she thought, hugging her knees closer.

"You don't have to hide anymore. I'm not going to hurt ya."

'Oh yeah, because trusting a demon who just probably killed someone is so much better.'

Bendy sighed from a distance. "Look, I know I was...scary to look at earlier." he began slowly. "But...I'm not that anymore. I...I'm back to normal. I'm not here to hurt ya. I just wanna help."

Jane chewed on her lower lip, hugging her legs tightly. She couldn't let him know she was here.

"Doll! Please!" he yelled, making her heart beat faster. "Just come on out."

Even if she knew this was wrong, **extremely** wrong, deep down she knew that in the end, Bendy had saved her. He came to the rescue, freed her from her bonds, and stopped Sammy from trying to finish his ritual sacrifice. Earlier, when Bendy was trying to get information from her, she was able to see his actual eyes. Those dark and crystal-like eyes. For some reason, just by looking into his eyes, she could see something that made her trust him. Jane wasn't sure why she did, but she trusted the ink demon and told him what Sammy had done.

Maybe...she could trust him.

Bendy had never tried to hurt her when she was with Sammy. Maybe he just wanted to save her. But...what more could Bendy want from her? Why save her? She didn't know him and he certainly didn't know her. Heck, he just called her 'Toots' instead of her name because she never shared it. What were Bendy's intentions?

Only one way to find out.

Taking a deep breath, Jane slowly rose to her feet, allowing Bendy to see her.

"Toots..." the ink demon sighed in relief as she turned to face him. Bendy was back to his regular size, still taller than Jane, but at least he wasn't a massive creature that she had seen a few minutes ago. Sadly, the ink covered his eyes once more and she felt her walls building back up in defense. "There you are..." But as Bendy began moving towards her, Jane held up her hands.

"Stop!" she protested, making Bendy freeze. Before he could say anything, Jane tried to find her voice again. "Don't come any closer."

Bendy tilted his head to the side, ink dripping off his horns and then splashing on the wooden floor.

"Just...stay right there." she stuttered, her body trembling.

He did as he was told and shook his head. "Aw come on Doll Face. I'm not here to hurt ya. I just wanted to see if you were okay. You don't have to worry about Sammy anymore. The guy is gone."

Her heart dropped into her stomach. Gone? As in dead? Gone as in he ran away?

"Wh-what does that mean?"

Bendy's head tilted to the left. "Uh...I mean, Sammy is gone."

"Gone as in what?" she stammered. "Dead?!"

He was silent for a moment.

"Well?!" Jane demanded, her voice bouncing off the walls.

Bendy held up his hands defensively. "Easy there, Toots. Calm down. I didn't kill Sammy." he began, smoothing the ink back on his head. "At least, not like that. I chased him through the music department until Sammy suddenly disappeared into this big inky lake upstairs. All I found was his mask. Nobody really survives that stuff once you jump into the deep part."

Jane felt herself slightly relax, but she still wasn't completely calm. Sammy was gone, but she still had Bendy to worry about.

"Are you okay? Have any nasty falls out there? Does your head still hurt? Toots, ya gotta tell me before I go insane here!"

Did that mean that Bendy would turn into that big monster again? Would he hurt her? He didn't before. But now since they were alone, who was to say that he wouldn't attack?

When Jane didn't say anything, Bendy sighed. "Come on, Toots. I'm honestly not here to hurt ya. I'm not that big...thing...again. I'm not turnin' into that anymore. I'm sorry if I scared ya back there. I was mad that he hurt ya earlier and I lost my temper. But I'm not gonna do that again. Trust me."

A dry laugh escaped Jane's lips. "Trust you? You?!"

Bendy's arms dropped to his sides. "Well...yeah. I mean, I just saved ya. Doesn't that say a lot?" Bendy questioned.

"Are you serious right now?" she asked Bendy as if what he said was the strangest question ever.

His head moved from side to side. "What do ya mean by that?"

"You're saying that just because you saved me, that means that I should just...trust you?"

He shrugged his bony shoulders. "I think so."

Jane blinked a few times, taking this information in. "That sounds like a trap."

"A trap? How is that a trap? I just said I saved ya. How is that a trap?"

"Sammy claimed that he was helping me by sharing clues on how to escape the music department." Jane began, feeling frustrated by his constant oblivious questions that were avoiding the real dangerous thing. "And then how does that creep reward me? He hits me over the head and then tries to sacrifice me to you!"

Bendy's teeth grit together. "I know that part. Don't remind me." he ground out, his fists clenching in response. "Look, I get it that he betrayed you back there."

Jane laughed dryly again. "Yeah, that's one way to say it."

What did she have to lose? She had almost died a few times today, her body was exhausted, and running was probably going to be a foolish idea since Bendy could catch her immediately.

"Are ya always like this? Snarky and sarcastic?" Bendy inquired.

Heck no! Jane was the complete opposite of that. At least, in public. Maybe around Henry she was like this. But outside of that, she was pretty quiet when it came to replying sarcastically. There was many things she wanted to say to several people, but she was always afraid to do so.

"Not all the time." she replied, swallowing so she could help her dry throat. "Sometimes I can be quite pleasant and shy."

Bendy relaxed his body before letting out a bellowing laugh that nearly shook the room. As he laughed, Jane lowered her arms, staring at the creature before her. He was laughing at her?

When Bendy calmed down finally, he wiped away a droplet of ink that rolled down his cheek. "Oh Doll Face, that was really good. Ya got me crackin' up over here!"

"What? Are you making fun of me now?" she demanded, feeling slightly more angered than scared.

The ink demon before her shook his head. "Nah, I'm not making fun of ya. Ya just made me laugh and it was funny. Don't take it personally, Doll."

Jane wasn't completely convinced that he wasn't making fun of her, but at least the tense moment was calmed.

Bendy glanced over his shoulder for a moment. "As much as I'm enjoyin' all of this, but I think we should find somewhere to hide out in. We're kind of out in the open and after I just scared off Sammy, his minions will be comin' for us. So I suggest we go."

Jane never moved from her spot in the corner, still hiding by the shelf.

"If ya think that's gonna hide you, you're wrong. Those blobs can sense you in the room and attack."

"How do you know I can't find a place to hide? I'm good at finding hiding spots." she defended. Jane always managed in college to find a nice place to hide on numerous occasions to escape campus life whens she wanted to.

Bendy chuckled. "I'm sure ya can. But right now, those things are probably upset that you destroyed a bunch of their friends and their leader is now missing. They'll be coming after ya now."

He did have a point.

"Now look, I know this studio pretty well and I actually have a few places to hide. I know ya don't completely trust me at the moment, but I'm the only one here who can hide ya from them." He held out his inky gloved hand to her, jerking his head back towards the hall behind him. "Come on."

When Jane still wouldn't move from her spot, Bendy sighed heavily, dropping his arm. "Look, I may be...a big guy and I might have done some scary stuff back there, but honestly, I'm not gonna hurt ya."

Wringing her hands, Jane shuffled her feet. "You...you're not going to throw me over your shoulder again, are you?"

Bendy let out a sound that sounded like a snort. "Nah, I won't do that again. Unless if we're in danger and ya can't run fast, then I probably won't hesitate to do that. But for now, I guess you're more than capable to walk."

She hesitated for another moment before taking a small hesitant step towards him. "Lead the way then."

"Alright then." Bendy said before turning around to lead her down another hall. "Just make sure to keep up. Don't know what's hidin' around these halls anymore."

Jane trailed behind Bendy, watching him attempt to walk since there was still a bit of a limp to his right leg. As they wandered through the halls, she began to wonder about what was wrong with that leg? Was he like this before he was an ink creature. Was he like Jack Fain? Did he have a life before the ink machine?

"Ya gave me quite a scare back there, Doll." Bendy spoke, breaking her away from her thoughts. "Ran off after I tried to save ya. Kind of rude, wouldn't ya say?"

Furrowing her eyebrows for a moment, Jane licked her dry lips. "Uh...well I think it was kind of rude for you to pick me up like that and carry me off without permission." she pointed out.

"Permission? I need permission to carry ya away from danger?" he asked as if he was the one who was right. "I mean, shouldn't you be a bit more...I don't know, grateful that I tried to save ya."

Was he actually arguing with her about this?

"Well to be fair, you did scare me. I mean, you grabbed my ankle earlier when I turned on the machine."

He descended down a set of stairs, carefully watching each step as they creaked under each foot fall. "Well how was I supposed to know? I mean, I couldn't see anything, so I climbed up and grabbed onto the first thing I felt. I didn't know it was your leg. Forgive me for tryin' to get out of that contraption. I didn't mean to scare ya earlier. Just managed to crawl out of the machine that I had been stuck in for months...years...or however long that guy, Sammy, was talkin' about."

Jane knit her eyebrows together as she continued to follow carefully, trying to make sure that the stairs wouldn't collapse. "Did you know you were in there?" she asked, hoping to gain a few answers from the ink demon. "I mean when you were in the machine."

A heavy sigh filled the space between them. "Unfortunately, yeah I was. For so long, all I could really see was ink. And no matter how hard I tried to escape, I couldn't get out."

That made Jane frown. When she had met Jack earlier, he was down in the sewers. True, he was stuck down there, but Jack was able to move around freely. But Bendy, he was trapped inside that machine for...what seemed to be a year or maybe even more.

To be stuck in such a small space...

Jane cringed at the thought of being stuck in a tight space. She wasn't normally claustrophobic, but the thought alone was enough to put her in that position.

Bendy stopped and turned around to see her in deep thought. "You thinkin' about something there, Toots?"

She blinked, breaking herself away from frightening thoughts to stare at the taller inky figure. "What?"

"Well you've got your...what do ya call them...kind of pullin' together." he replied, pointing to her face.

"My...what?"

"Your uh...those fuzzy things above your eyes."

She stared back at him for a moment. "My eyebrows?"

"Uh, yeah yeah! Those things! Eyebrows!" he said, snapping his fingers with excitement, making Jane jump back.

'He's excited about eyebrows? That's...a little odd.' Jane thought to herself as she watched the grin on his face return.

"Yeah, my eyebrows..."

"That must mean that you're thinkin'. I mean, at least I think that's what you're doin'."

Jane licked her dry lips. "Um...yeah. I...I was."

"Well you'll have to tell me when we get back to the hideout. I wanna hear about it." he told Jane before turning back around to continue his way downstairs.

He wanted to hear her talk about what she was thinking? Why did he want to know about that? Obviously, he wasn't probably going to enjoy what she had to say since it involved thinking what a monster he was. And naturally people bore of her conversation topics and thoughts.

They trekked for awhile longer until they reached a large shutter, which was closed tightly. A nearby poster of the Bendy cartoon from an older episode caught Jane's eye. It was an image of Bendy being pushed around in a shopping cart by Boris the Wolf while flames surrounded them. 'Hell in a Hand basket' was printed across the paper. Well that was one way to describe her predicament.

Bendy reached up to pull the poster back, exposing a large weathered button that hung on the wall. As soon as he pushed it, the shutter began to lift up, revealing another hallway.

"After you. Just watch your head. The ceiling is a little low at the start. I won't get hurt myself, but you will."

She stared at him skeptically. "Why do you say it like that?"

Bendy tilted his head, the ink on his head dripping over his mouth. "Well...I assume humans can't grow things back. Sooo...just be careful."

Still feeling slightly strange about what he had to say, Jane cautiously stepped inside of the hall and waited for further instructions.

He stepped in behind her and hit the button again, making the shudder creak loudly as it lowered. "Just go on ahead. It's just at the end of the hall."

Jane listened to Bendy and began making her way to the end, ducking her head under the low ceiling so she wouldn't hit her head. Her body still trembled with fear as she tried to brave the storm. She had just escaped death yet again, and now...she was back with the thing that tried to kill her in the first place. But...was he really going to kill her?

When she reached the end of the hall, she found herself standing in a little makeshift living space. There were a few crates arranged in the fashion of what seemed to be a chair or a couch with a ripped blanket thrown over it. A table and chairs were arranged in the corner, however, one of the chairs only had three legs and rested against the wall. On the opposite side of the room, there was an old desk with a pillow and a painting tarp thrown across it. Was it a bed? How could anyone sleep on a desk?

"Well...I guess...this is home sweet home. That's how they say it, right?" Bendy asked right behind Jane, making her jump in surprise.

Holding a hand to her chest, Jane hyperventilated for a moment, turning to face him. "Don't do that!"

Bendy held up his gloved and ink covered hands in defense. "Okay okay...what did I do?" he asked, backing away slightly.

"You scared me!" Jane replied, confused at why he didn't understand how much he frightened her right now.

"I did? Oh right...I guess I did. Sorry about that." Bendy apologized, slowly lowering his arms. "Look, I'm not here...to hurt ya. I thought I said that like a dozen times already."

Jane's body attempted to relax slightly, her nerves still on the edge. "I...I know. I'm sorry. I just...I'm just trying to take all of this in right now."

His head tilted to the side. "What? Is it that bad? I mean...I know it's not perfect, but it's home to me. I guess..." Bendy moved past her and tried to straighten up the chair. "I can just...go hunt for a new one. I just wanted something big enough."

He was worried if she liked his home or not?

"No, no you don't have to do that. I'm okay." she replied as she watched Bendy sit down in the large chair.

"Ahh...that feels better." the demon sighed loudly. "Nothin' like a big nice comfy chair to sit in after all that runnin'."

Jane was completely bewildered by what was happening now as she stared at the massive humanized cartoon. First, Bendy tried to 'rescue' her and she managed to escape. Then Sammy recaptured her and Bendy came for an actual rescue this time by turning into this monster. Now, Bendy was just relaxing in a lounge chair as if this was a normal day for him! What was really going on here? What were the demon's intentions? And why was he so...calm?

"Hey, you okay?" Bendy asked, making Jane shift her gaze to him.

Brushing her hair behind her ears, Jane tried to figure out something to say back. What could she say?

"Well...I just...I don't know what to say." she told him, scratching her head. "I mean, all of this...I just..."

"It's a lot?" he finished while she nodded a couple times.

"Yeah." she croaked, trying to keep herself in control.

"I guess ya didn't mean to come here. Judgin' by the way you're so scared. Most people around here aren't as jumpy as you are." he began, scratching the back of his head. "And besides, nobody around here looks like ya. Human that is. Do ya want somethin' to drink?"

Now that he mentioned it, her throat was a little dry.

"If there's any water, it would be nice."

Bendy slowly got up for a moment and went into a small closet and the sound of water dripping filled the room. He returned shortly with a broken cup in hand. "Before ya ask, it's clean water. It's from a little pipe I've got in the back. Surprised the stuff is still coming out, but it's water."

Hesitantly, she took the glass while Bendy sat back down in the chair. She managed to find a place that wasn't broken and took a sip. The cool refreshing taste touched her tongue, instantly turning her dry throat wet again. "Thank you."

Bendy smiled with the big familiar grin before relaxing back in his chair. "Least I could do, Toots."

She took another drink before looking at Bendy. "So...you live here?"

His lanky legs crossed over one another while a laugh bubbled in his chest. "Well...I mean, I used to. It's a work in progress."

"Used to?"

True, some of the room seemed a bit dusty, but then again, this place could have been like this before Bendy found it.

"I found this place before I was trapped in that darn contraption. It was my home some time ago. Surprised that its sill standin' here." Bendy spoke, flicking something off the 'arm' of the chair. "Thought one of those things took it over."

Her fingers began rotating the cup around carefully. "Things...you mean like those blob creatures out there?"

Bendy nodded, ink sliding down his face a little. "The same ones. There are even other things out there besides those blobs. Things you definitely don't wanna come across."

Jane shuddered at the thought. What could be worse than a bunch of creepy blobs, a crazy cult leader, and an ink demon? She dreaded to find out.

"I actually had a few homes throughout this studio. Kept havin' to move around whether I wanted to or not."

Jane couldn't help but feel curious about that. "How come?"

Bendy chuckled, tilting his head back. "Oh you know, I got too big to live in such a small space. Sometimes I met new friends who let me stay in their little abode." Then his voice lowered. "Or...I was forced out of my home because someone didn't want me bein' there."

That made the brunette frown. "Forced you? I mean...couldn't you of...um..."

His lifted his head up. "What? Could've done what?"

Her hands tightened around the glass as Jane tried to think of the right way to put it without angering him. "Well...you know..."

"No, I actually don't know what ya mean there, Toots. What do ya mean?" he questioned further, sitting up to place his elbows on his bony and inky legs.

Biting her lip for a moment, she finally blurted out, "Scared them?"

Bendy's head tilted from side to side as if he was trying to comprehend the words. "Why would I do that?"

For that comment alone had Jane nearly laughing at the question, but she held back the laugh. "Well...I mean, you're...a bit scary."

There was a long pause. A terribly long one where the only sound in the room was the ink dripping onto the floor from Bendy's head. Jane felt the fear creeping back into her system as she stared at the demon who could possibly kill her just for that comment alone.

"I-I'm sorry I said that. Forget what I said. I didn't mean to...I'm sorry." she told him quickly, feeling her body tremble once again. She hated insulting people. Even if she didn't mean to doing that. The look on someone's face when she spoke, made her internally cringe. The happy look on their face slowly disappearing, hurt and disgust replacing it. As if she had slapped them in the face.

He frowned at her before shaking his head. "Hey, don't apologize for that. It's all good. Hold ya horses there. You're not in trouble!" he spoke before slowly rising from his chair. "Don't start losing your marbles."

Jane stared for a moment before she let out a short laugh, holding the cup close. "Lose your marbles?"

"What?"

"Nothing...I just...I've never had anyone use that phrase before. I mean...who even says that anymore?" she questioned Bendy, taking another sip from the cup.

Bendy shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, I use it. Is that a bad thing?"

"No no no." she replied quickly. "There's nothing bad about that. It's just something that I only hear in old movies and..." Jane stopped herself before saying the word 'cartoons'. She wasn't sure what he would say to that or question her about what it was. Was Bendy aware that he was a cartoon?

"And what?" Bendy further questioned.

"Oh it's nothing." she replied before trying to get the subject back on track. "Anyways, I didn't mean to offend you at all."

"You didn't! Not at all. I just...don't scare people like that often." Bendy spoke, pushing some of the ink back from his face. "Except that guy back there. I just couldn't stand...seeing that...that creep hurt ya like that. I mean, he was trying to sacrifice ya. I didn't want him to hurt ya."

"But he didn't." she tried to convince him. "You did...save me."

"Yeah...I guess I did." he sighed, accidentally pushing some ink into his cheeks.

"Um...you have some..." she tried to tell Bendy, pointing to his face.

His head turned, flinging a little ink on her unintentionally. "I have what? Something on my face?" he asked, smearing some of the ink around.

She let out a small laugh when she saw his pale white face smeared in ink. "Uh...somewhat."

Tilting his head to the side again, Bendy moved over to a broken mirror and tried to look at his messy face.

"I mean, you've always had ink in your eyes." she told him, shuffling her feet slightly.

"I did? Huh, guess I never noticed." he replied, swiping a hand through the ink, moving it back so his eyes were visible again. Then he turned back around to Jane. "Better?"

She nodded in response while Bendy moved back over to his seat. Such as casual demon, wasn't he? Of course, he was staggering around the studio before, scaring her and Sammy. But now...he seemed more...laid back. Almost like a normal human being. Except, he wasn't a human. Not even close.

Then again...Jack Fain was once a human. And Sammy, he definitely seemed more human. But Bendy? Could he be human?

"Sooo...why don't ya tell me what you were thinkin' earlier." Bendy suggested, resting his elbows on the bony knees. "I really wanna know."

Jane sat down on a lonely crate, taking another sip from the glass. "Actually...do you mind if we talk about something else?" she questioned, wanting to get to the real questions. "I wanted to ask a few things."

"Yeah sure, Toots." he agreed while Jane slowly sat down on a nearby crate. "What's on your mind?"

"I guess...where I want to start is...who are you? I mean, really...who are you?" It was a general question. One that was basically asking if Bendy was really who he said he was. Then again, he never really told her his name. Maybe he had a name like Jack.

His eyes blinked a few times as if he was taking in what she said. "Who am I? I'm Bendy! The Dancing Demon! Troublemaker and a bit of a mess maker." he announced with a wide toothy grin. "Well...at least that's what everyone tells me. But I guess I've always been Bendy."

"You guess? What does that mean?"

"I mean, I've been called Bendy since I was born. They always called me Bendy."

"They?"

"Well...the people who raised me at least." he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Who raised you?"

His dark eyes blinked a couple times. "You're asking a lot of questions, aren't ya?"

"Is that a bad thing? If it is, I'll stop." she replied quickly, feeling nervousness creeping in again.

"Oh no, it's fine." Bendy assured, holding up a hand to calm her. "I just, I wanna be able to ask a few things here. I mean, after all, ya stumbled into here and freed me."

Oh right, Jane was the one who let him out. At this point, she wasn't sure if that was such a good thing or not.

"Okay, go ahead. Ask me."

What harm could that do?

"How did ya know I was in there? I mean, ya don't exactly look like a fellow ink being. You're...a human."

"You know I'm a human." she stated, wondering what he could elaborate on. "How do you know this?"

"Well...I mean that has to be the only explanation. I mean, I've never really seen one in person." he informed, grabbing a can of bacon soup from the floor and began rolling it back and forth in his hands.

"Then how do you know that they exist?"

"Some of the beings down here know about them. They told me about humans and what they are. But sometimes...I..." he trailed off, holding the can still. "I've seen them. In...dreams...or...sometimes...they're like pictures that run through my mind like a movie. I'm not sure why, but I always see them."

Jane sat there, surprised by this information. He knew about humans because of pictures or movies running through his head? How did he know this? Why? And what exactly was the whole mechanism to these ink creatures?

It was fascinating. Almost like a scientific research with critical thinking, just like in school. Except, how was this possible in the first place?

"You're doing that thing again." Bendy spoke, making Jane jolt for a moment.

"What?"

"You're doing that thinkin' thing, I think. It's...kind of cute."

Her cheek immediately flushed at the compliment. "Cute?"

Bendy nodded with a grin on his lips. "I've never seen anyone do it like you do."

She stared at the demon, before taking another quick sip. "Uh...thanks? I think."

His hands went back to rolling the can again. "Back to my question, how did ya know I was in there?"

"I didn't. I just turned on the machine and then suddenly, you were there grabbing my leg." Jane wasn't sure how to talk to a creature like this or if he'd even understand, but so far, Bendy seemed complaint and was curious about her as well. At least they could trade questions and answers back and forth to find out what was going on around here.

"But...why did ya turn it on then? That would've been the only way for me to get out."

That was a question that Jane had been wondering herself. Why did she turn it on? Joey wasn't exactly there at the time and told her to turn it on.

She just shrugged her shoulders in response. "I'm not really sure why I did. I guess I was just curious about what it would do. I mean, it's not every day that someone sees an ink machine."

"Hm...I guess that seems fair. Of course, I've neva' seen a human before today." he said with a smile, his eyes staying on hers, making Jane blush slightly. "So what are ya doin' here?"

"That, I'm still not sure either."

"Hmm...maybe you'll figure it out later, I suppose." he sighed, hie eyes searching hers. "Can I ask ya one more question?"

"Depends, are you going to ask me more later?" she tried to tease, feeling her nerves slightly beginning to relax.

"Probably." he responded with a smirk. "Ya know about me now, but I don't even know your name, Toots."

Slowly, a smile began to appear. "Jane. My name is Jane."

* * *

 **Well, that was a lot of fun! I've been waiting to do a Bendy scene since the beginning and boy was it worth every second! I had to do a little research to find out some slang that Bendy could use, which was a lot of fun to do as well lol So we got a little bit of information about Bendy, but trust me, there's far more to the ink demon than we know. It's gonna be a crazy ride through the studio! But I hope to make this story just as good as the game. Thank you everyone for reading and I hope to hear from you guys soon! Don't forget to leave a review! You guys are amazing! Truly amazing! Thank you! ^_^**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! I'm sorry for the wait! Work has been pretty crazy lately. Seriously. Mainly because of renovations to the building. Also, I was recently at an anime convention, which was sooooooo awesome! If you ever get an opportunity to go to one, do it! Totally worth it!**

 **However, after seeing the videos being released for the new Bendy game, it just inspired me to update! I'm beyond excited to find out what the Meatly/Kindly Beast are releasing! We're getting another game! Yay!** **So while I'm waiting on that new chapter to be released, I'm working on my own!**

 **Thank you everyone for reviewing, messaging and of course adding me to your favorites/alerts! You guys are make me so happy to see all of these reviews! They definitely make my day better at work and put a smile on my face whenever I'm down. Also, my responses are a personal thank you to all of you who leave them. I like replying to my readers! The story will change slightly from here on out, but I hope it sounds good. Thank you everyone for staying with me through this journey!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bendy and the Ink Machine! That belongs to the Meatly/Kindly Beast. I only own Jane. **

* * *

**Review Responses:** **Thank you to everyone who left me a review! I'm shocked with all of the reviews I've been getting! Seriously, you guys are absolutely amazing! I love getting these! It makes me so happy to know that you guys are enjoying this! THANK YOU!**

 **TheAmazingAuthoress-** It was fun getting to read through the different words. I did notice that! Awww thanks! I had to get it out around that time and I had fun writing them! Maaaaaaaybe. hahaha yes! Bendy gets around! He's a charming ink demon! lol He's seeing Jane in one universe while Grace in the other haha

 **PrincessEmag-** Yeah, he may be scary looking and freaked the heck out of her, but Bendy does have a bit of a sweet side for her so far.

 **SpringBorn-** haha thanks! She's been through so much! It's about time she gets to have a pleasant conversation with Bendy!

 **ShadysStarWish-** Yay! New chapter! haha Awwwww dude! That's so sweet of you to say! I try my best! I kept getting worried that I wasn't writing him well. Mmmm...you'll have to wait and seeeee ;)

 **Flamingheart12-** Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for your sweet words! I was worried how Bendy was going to turn out, but I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying what I've written so far and how I embodied him. I love writing Bendy conversations! I always try my best to make it the best I can!

* * *

"Sooo...can your hair change colors?" Bendy asked suddenly, breaking Jane from her thoughts about how the room remained untouched.

It had been awhile now since Jane introduced herself to Bendy. After exchanging names and a few apologies to one another, Jane took the time to explore the hideout since she wasn't sure how long she would stay there with the demon. There was a small room in the back, which was filled with random pieces that were found around the studio. A toolbox filled with ink bottles and a hammer, a banged up banjo that was probably from the music department, a stack of bacon soup cans, and a few other things that made Jane wonder why there were there. Above it all, was a leaky pipe that had a small trickle of water dripping down to the floor. Thankfully it didn't make a puddle since the small crack in the floorboards provided a solution for it. Beside that was another room that was small enough for only one person to stand in and had several small boxes scattered around on the shelves. Probably a junk closet.

"What?" she asked, trailing her fingers slowly across the peeling wallpaper.

"Your hair. It's not black like other people around here. I mean it's...what color is that exactly?" he questioned, pointing to his horns as if he had hair.

"Uh...brown." she replied, unsure how to respond normally to that question. "And...yeah if I wanted to dye it, I could."

Did ink creatures not understand the concept of color? Or was their vision black and white? But then again, he was able to differ that her hair was another color.

Bendy smoothed the ink on his head back as he wandered into the small closet. "Have ya ever done it before? Changed the color?"

Jane had thought about dying her hair color before. Perhaps to become a blonde or go a little crazy and turn it purple or green. But of course, she would push the thought off to the side or someone would tell her how ridiculous she would look. To the point where she would forget the entire idea all together.

"Well...I've thought about it, but I guess I never did it." She shrugged as she sat down on a nearby crate.

"How come?" Bendy questioned, reemerging with a blanket tucked under his arm.

Unconsciously, she reached up to run her fingers through her long chestnut colored hair, which was still covered with clumps of ink. "Well...I was really focused on school work and...I thought it would make me look...silly." she mumbled, shaking her head.

Bendy's head tilted to the side while leaning against the door frame of the closet. "Silly? Why would ya look silly? I mean, I think it would be pretty swell to have a different shade of hair color. I mean if I had hair."

A small smile graced her lips at the thought of Bendy having hair. Would his horns show through it? Would Bendy have short or long hair? Or would he try a ridiculous look like a mohawk or a mullet?

"You're smilin' again. I must've said somethin' right." Bendy chuckled, breaking her from her thoughts.

Jane bit her lower lip for a moment, shaking her head. "I uh...I was thinking of what you would look like with hair."

He shook his head as he moved further into the room. "So do ya think I'd look good?"

"Well...I'm not sure. I mean, they're like hundreds of different ways to have your hair. Lots of styles, colors, lengths. It could go any way really." she spoke, still finding the whole situation beyond strange. She was giving hair advice to an ink demon! At least she was finding a little humor from it all.

"Suppose that's true." he laughed, holding out the blanket to her. "Here. I don't really use it, but I figured that you'd be cold or somethin'. Maybe ya could take a nap."

Blinking in surprise, Jane took it from Bendy. "Uh...thank you."

Bendy smiled before moving back to his chair. "Sorry there's no bed here. I'll make sure to drag one here sometime. I can clear off somethin', if ya want."

"I'm okay for now, but...thanks." she mumbled, setting the blanket down on the wobbly table.

The two faced one another, the room becoming eerily quiet. Now that the initial shock set in and things have calmed down, things just seemed...strange.

What could someone say to an ink demon? What's it like to be a creature that isn't human? How do you handle being what you are? What do you eat for breakfast on a Saturday morning?

When Jane opened her mouth to say something, Bendy held up his hands.

"Hey! I just remembered something! Now that we're calm and all...I have somethin' for ya." Bendy said, getting up from his seat to rummage through the backroom again.

Jane sat there, trying to guess what Bendy had for her. A weapon to defend herself with? A random trinket that he found? Oh what the heck was she thinking? A gift from an ink demon? Nobody would ever believe this if she ever told anyone. Heck, she didn't even believe this herself.

Bendy returned, hands behind his back as he limped towards her. Awhile ago, she would've flinched or even ran away screaming. But given the situation and how kind Bendy was being towards her, she sat there patiently, trying to look at what he was hiding.

"So where is it?"

Bendy rocked back on his heels a little as if he was a child, keeping a secret from his parents. "Weeeeeell...remember when I scared ya earlier? And you uh...fell down the stairs?"

Her bruises and aches could probably answer for her. "Yeah..."

"Well uh...I found this...thing. Not sure what it is, but it keeps movin'." he mumbled, holding out his hand to her.

Jane's eyes widened in shock and relief to see Bendy holding her cellphone in his inky palm.

"My cellphone! How did you...I just...I can't believe it!" she exclaimed, quickly standing up.

"Well I haven't seen anythin' like that around here before. And well whatever it is...a cellphone...or whatnot, it's yours." he replied, handing over the small device to her.

Taking it into her hands, Jane tried to turn on the phone and shockingly, it was still working! The screen lit up, showing the lock screen, which was a photo of her and Henry standing in front of one of the monuments they had visited last summer. Once she unlocked her phone, the screen filled with several missed calls made by Henry along with frantic texts asking where she was. The time read 3:00 AM at the top. Had it been that long already?!

"What is that dinky thing?" Bendy questioned, scratching his head, moving closer to see what was so special about it.

Jane managed to look up at the inky demon. "Uh...well. It's a communication device. You dial a number on here and you can talk to someone who has one too. They can be near or far from you."

Bendy's head tilted to the side. "Hm...interestin'. So what are ya gonna do with that...uh cellphone...thingamajig?"

Her eyes glanced up at him, a smile appearing on her lips. "Well...I...suppose I'm going to try to call someone on it."

The battery at the top read 20%. Not much, but just enough to make a call.

But who would she call? The police? True, that would be the sensible thing. But what would she say to them?

 _'Help, I'm trapped in an abandoned studio and there are ink creatures trying to kill me! I know I disobeyed the law and broke into an abandoned building. But if you come and see the ink machine for yourself, you'll let me off with a warning. Yeah...that would go over so well.'_ she thought to herself, rolling her eyes as she paced back and forth with the phone in her hand.

"Who are ya gonna call, Toots?" Bendy asked, breaking Jane from her thoughts.

"I'm not sure..." she mumbled softly running her finger over the tempered glass on her phone. Thankfully the phone never cracked when she dropped it.

"Well there's gotta be someone at least. Come on, Toots think of somethin'. Do that thing with your face again!"

Before Jane could respond to Bendy, she quickly tapped her thumb over the call button and hit redial. There was only one person she knew she could speak to.

Eagerly, she pressed her phone to hear ear to hear the sweet sound of a dial tone ringing, making her heart pound. It was ringing! It was actually ringing! Even if she was far down beneath the studio, she had service!

Jane held the phone close to her ear, hoping to hear a familiar voice. A friendly voice. Henry's voice.

She had no idea if he would actually believe her or not, but she had to try something! If she called her parents, they would either laugh at whatever she said or hang up on her. Not to mention, they would probably scream at her instead of listening to her cries for help. Henry was her only hope to getting some help.

"What's happening?" Bendy asked suddenly, making her jump at the closeness between them.

"Shh...it's ringing." she shushed him harshly due to her anxiety rising.

Bendy held up his hands in defense. "Sorry."

Jane shook her head when the sound of Henry's voice spoke up.

"Hey, it's Henry."

"Oh my gosh you answered." She sighed in relief before continuing. "It's Jane! Listen I need you to-"

"I can't come to the phone right now. So if you leave your name and number, I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can." Henry's voice mail continued, making Jane's heart sink. He wasn't there.

But once the sound of the voice mail beeping rang in her ear, Jane tried to take a deep breath before beginning.

"Uh...hey. It's me. I uh...I don't even know where to begin." She began pacing around the small room, dragging her nails over the back of her neck to keep herself calm. "Look...I...I lied to you earlier. I...I'm not actually at the beach. I took a detour and well..." she trailed off when she felt hear heart beginning to beat faster and tears began welling up in her eyes. "I...I screwed up. Big time. I don't even know if you'll believe me. Actually, you'll probably think that I'm going crazy."

She turned around to see Bendy still standing there, his hands now folded in front of him.

If she had been the one listening to this voicemail, she wouldn't believe herself! This was absolutely insane! Beyond insane!

Closing her eyes, she took another deep breath to calm her voice. "If you get this message and my battery is still working...just...please call me back. I'm stuck in the old-"

 ** _"Message received. Goodbye."_** the automated female spoke, cutting Jane off before the phone hung up.

Jane cursed under her breath as she lowered the phone.

"What's wrong? Did ya talk to whoever was on the other side?" Bendy questioned, moving closer.

She bit her lower lip as she tried to calm down her nerves. "No...no he wasn't there."

He frowned when he saw her lips curve downward. "So what now?"

With a shrug of her shoulders, Jane pocketed the phone and sat down on the crate again. "I guess I wait until he calls me back. Either that or..." she trailed off, running a hand through her inky covered strands. "My battery dies and I'll never get out of here."

There was a long pause of silence between them.

All Jane could think about was how she was never going to escape the studio even if she called for help. But then again, she never got to tell Henry that she was six hours away in his old abandoned animation studio. Oh and she was surrounded by living ink creatures.

Within a few drippy footsteps, Bendy came into view before he crouched down in front of her.

"Uh...look. I'm...sorry I guess for what's goin' on here and all. But...it's kind of...depressin' to see you like this." he began, watching as tears began rolling down her cheeks. "But come on. Don't start with those...things. Tears right?"

She nodded mutely, staring down at her hands.

"Tears, okay got it. But honestly, ya shouldn't be cryin' like this."

"Easy for you to say..." she mumbled softly. "You don't have a family waiting at home, probably worried to death."

Well at least Henry would.

"Ya got a family?"

She nodded again, rubbing the back of her left hand. "Yeah. The guy on the phone was my uncle. Closest family member to me. And he doesn't know where I am and I told him that I was at the beach instead."

There was a scraping noise of another box being pulled over in front of her. "I never had one, ya know? A family. At least, I don't think I do." he spoke, sitting down on the box. "I mean, I've had others to talk to. But...I don't think they're family. Not really."

Jane lifted her head slowly. "How do you know what a family is?"

When he didn't respond right away, Jane cleared her throat before continuing.

"I mean, you didn't understand colors when you asked about dying my hair earlier and you've never seen a cellphone before. So how do you...understand certain concepts and not others?" It wouldn't hurt to ask the ink demon. After all, it was fascinating to see that a living creature made of ink was talking and had a consciousness.

Bendy tilted his head to side. "You're pretty...uh...smart, aren't ya? I mean...using some fancy words that I've never really heard before."

A slight warmth covered her cheeks at the compliment. "Uh...it's just...words."

"Fancy ones." he chuckled softly. "But uh...to answer your question there...I guess I just learn them from those things I get. Those pictures runnin' through my mind. I've seen families together. Moms and dads with the little ones. I mean, what else could it be? And as for knowing that it was a family, someone told me once what it was." Then he sighed heavily, clasping his hands together in front of him. "I don't think I have a mom or a dad. At least, not that I know of."

She wiped a tear away from her cheek. "How do you know?"

His bony shoulders lifted and fell. "I just remember waking up from the ink and that's it. I was all alone."

She couldn't help but feel sad for the demon. All alone in this creepy studio? Waking up in this place would be a terrible nightmare.

"All alone? What did you do?" she asked softly, scared to be any louder.

"I just started walkin'. Or well...limpin'. I don't know what it is." he started before staring down at his leg. "For some reason, I can't walk right with this leg. Don't know if I was born with it or something. Maybe a curse of some sort. Anyways, I eventually found a few people who lived a few floors down from the ink machine. At first, they just stared at me, wonderin' who I was and how I got down there."

"Were they scared of you?"

Bendy paused for a moment, squeezing his hands. "Not at first."

That statement had Jane's heart sinking. 'Not at first.'

"In the beginnin', it was pretty swell. Some of the folks down here enjoyed havin' me stay with them. They taught me everythin' I needed to know about the studio and how to survive. They helped me learn a lot of things. Even learned how to search for food in this joint." he said with a smile before it slowly fell. "And then...I guess it just started happenin'."

Licking her lips, Jane opened her mouth. "What did?"

Bendy's dark lips pursed for a moment before his large teeth dug into his lower lip. "I started changin'."

"Like how?"

"I started growin'. I got taller and my limbs were much longer than when I started out. Then..." he trailed off before shaking his head. "Some stuff happened and next thing I knew...everyone in the studio started...hatin' me. They feared me. Ran away from me as if I was a monster."

The way Bendy spoke, nearly broke Jane's heart.

From what she was learning about Bendy, it was as if he wasn't aware of what he was. He had awoken from the ink and was practically a newborn. Alone. Then when he eventually found others like him, he changed and suddenly nobody wanted to be near him. What kind of life was that?

"Sooo...after that...I just explored the studio, roamin' from place to place until..." His teeth clenched together. "I ended up in the ink machine again..."

"How did you end up in there? I mean, do you know who did it?" Jane asked softly, rubbing her ink covered hands together to attempt to clean them. Too bad that the ink was now in every single crevice and crease of her hands.

Bendy shook his head in dismay. "I didn't see who exactly did it, but I have a pretty good idea who might've done it. And if it is, there's no doubt there are minions out there lookin' for me. Worse...they'll be lookin' for ya too, Toots."

Jane's heart sunk at his words "They? Whose they?"

"Someone who is never ever gonna come after ya. Not as long as I have anythin' to say about it." Bendy grumbled as he stood up, limping back to the hallway.

She blinked in surprise at the gesture. He was being so protective over her even if they had just formally met a few moments ago. It made her slightly scared though. Was Bendy the kind of monster who was possessive over certain things? The thought sent chills down her spine. Despite Bendy's attempted hospitality, he was still a stranger to her. And he definitely wasn't human.

"Um...Bendy. I know you're trying to keep me safe here and I really appreciate for what you've done for me." Her voice trailed off. "But I can't stay here." she tried to tell the ink demon as he checked the hallway door to make sure it was sealed shut. "Surely you know a way back upstairs and if you take me upstairs, I could find a way out."

The demon stopped, his body going stiff before slowly turning around. "But why? You're safe here! I can get around the studio and keep those things away from ya!" Bendy argued from down the hall before he returned shortly.

When his eyes caught hers, Jane couldn't help but avoid his gaze. "I...I have to get home, Bendy. I have people at home waiting on me. My uncle...he doesn't know where I am and..."

"But he didn't answer!" Bendy cut her off. "I mean, whose to say he didn't **_want_** to answer?"

Jane felt her heart fall deep into the pit of her stomach. That definitely hurt to hear.

"Besides, I can go get food for ya when ya need it. I can protect ya." he assured her, limping towards Jane while she stood up and moved away in fear. When she did that, Bendy stopped immediately, his eyes widening for a split second. Immediately, Bendy stopped and turned away. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Jane shook her head as she placed a hand over her racing heart. Now she was scared again.

He inhaled a few times slowly before he limped over to the table. "I...I'm sorry. I'm not trying to scare ya there. I just...I don't want them to get ya."

Her teeth dug into her lower lip as she tried to calm her nerves down to answer. "I...I get it. But...Bendy...my uncle will be worried about me. I know he didn't answer, but I know my uncle. He'll wonder where I am." Her hands tightened around her shirt. "Look, I know you're having a hard time understanding a lot. But...one thing is for sure, and I want you to understand something. My uncle _**does**_ care about me and he would do anything to make sure I'm safe." Her voice trembled as she spoke to him, a slight coldness in the tone. "Got it?"

He stared down at the young woman, slightly taken back by the way she spoke to him. But Bendy didn't lunge or attempt to hurt her. Instead, he held up his hands for a moment, nodding his head. "You're right. I'm sorry I doubted your uncle." Then he walked away, grabbing a few things off the ground before dumping them on the table.

Once Jane's heart calmed down, she released her shirt, dropping her arms. Sitting back down on the box, she grabbed the blanket, laying it over her lap.

Bendy then grabbed her glass and went to the pipe to refill it again. After a few moments, he returned, setting the glass on the floor next to her feet. As if he didn't want to try and come closer.

He was silent for a few moments before he took a deep breath. "Look..." he sighed. "I know how this might look, Toots. But I'm honestly not going to hurt ya. I'm just tryin' to keep ya safe from all of those guys out there who are lookin' for ya."

Carefully, she reached down to grab the glass at her feet. She took a quick sip, licking her lips. "But...I don't understand." She began, glancing up at the demon who was slumped against the doorway of the junk closet. "Why are you so insistent on keeping me safe? I mean, you don't know me. I'm not...like you. And...I just don't know what exactly is going on here."

Bendy pushed the ink away from his face before shrugging his shoulders. "Toots...I'm gonna be honest here." Then he moved closer to her. "I know ya didn't mean to come here and ya didn't mean to turn on the machine...but...ya saved me. Ya freed me from that darn contraption and for that, I'm eternally grateful."

She stared at him for a few moments before he continued.

"I just...I feel like I owe ya for that. So from here on out, I'm gonna make sure that nothin' is comin' after ya. You're stayin' here with me."

"But Bendy...I can't stay here forever. I have to get home." She took another sip of water. "You probably know the way back upstairs. If you're grateful for what I did, then why can't you fulfill a favor for me?"

"A favor?"

She nodded slowly. "You can take me back upstairs. Help me escape this place."

His onyx eyes narrowed. "But why would I do that?"

"Because I saved you and well...to make things fair, you should try and save me as well."

"But I saved ya already. I stopped that Sammy guy and here ya are, safe and sound. I mean this room isn't too big, but you're hidden away." he tried to assure her that he was right.

Jane stood up, clutching the cup close. "But for how long? If they were able to find me in the music department, whose to say that they won't find me here?"

"They won't!"

She frowned at the desperation in his voice. "But then what? I stay in this room for the rest of my life? I can't stay here."

Bendy grumbled deeply as he began pacing back and forth across the room. She could vaguely hear the words 'crazy doll', 'foolish', 'no', and 'protect'. What exactly was he saying or planning? Then she could see his lips pursing and his eyes narrowing slowly, eyebrows knitting together.

Jane's eyes blinked a couple of times while her head tilted slightly to the side. Did he have eyebrows before? After all, when he saw hers, he didn't even know what they were called? But when she saw his face, she didn't notice them before.

Mentally, she shook her head. Perhaps, the ink hid his eyebrows before.

Bendy suddenly stopped in front of her. "You're awfully stubborn, Toots."

She stared back at him. " ** _I'm stubborn_**? Says the ink demon who insists on making me stay here."

The onyx eyes narrowed, but when he opened his mouth, she quickly cut him off.

"If you want to protect me, then help me get out of there." she pleaded, hoping to change his mind. She had to try something!

Surely, Bendy knew the way out of this place. If what he said about living here for so long is true, then he should be familiar with every hall and crevice.

His chest puffed up as he took a deep breath before it fell again as he exhaled, releasing all the air that was built up. "I...I'll think about it. But I'm not promisin' anything, Toots."

She frowned at his answer. Not the sort of response she was thinking of hearing.

Even if she was 'safe' here in this secluded space, right now, she didn't feel completely safe here with the ink demon who never wanted to let her go.

Rubbing her hands she snatched up the blanket, holding it close. After everything she had experienced today, Jane couldn't help but feel exhaustion fill her entire being. There had been so much stress on her body, mentally and physically.

She could worry about Bendy helping her later, all she wanted was a little bit of rest.

"I think I'm going to try and get some sleep." she mumbled as she dropped the blanket in the nearest bare corner.

Bendy then went into the junk closet and dragged out a small couch cushion. "I'm sorry it's not a bed. If you want my chair, you're more than welcome to use it."

"It's fine. It'll do." Jane assured the demon as she dragged the cushion over to the bare corner and began setting up a makeshift sleeping area. It would probably be slightly stiff, but she could manage sleeping there for a bit. At least she had a blanket and a cushion to sleep on.

Bendy moved over to slump in his chair, laying back against it. "I guess I should get a little rest as well. But don't worry, I'm a light sleeper. If somethin' comes, I'll wake ya up. But we should be safe."

Jane sat down on the floor, adjusting the cushion. "Are you sure? We could always take shifts and keep watch."

"Won't have to. This room is sealed up pretty tight. If I hear somethin', I'll protect ya."

"My hero..." she mumbled before laying down on the cushion, pulling the scratchy blanket up over her shoulders, keeping her nice and warm.

"You teasin' me, Toots?" Bendy asked. "You think I can't protect ya? Just because I'm not human doesn't mean that-"

"I know." she told him, curling up in a ball. "I'm not doubting you. Just...think about helping me."

A heavy sigh filled the quiet room. "Alright, Toots. I'll think on it. But I'm not agreein' to anythin'."

She nodded slowly before closing her eyes. "Just think about it." she whispered to him as she rolled onto her side.

"Night Toots."

"Night...Bendy."

"Sweet dreams."

Yeah, hopefully she could wake up from this nightmare.

* * *

 **I guess I'll end it there for now. What's going to happen now? Well...the story could go in any direction now. This part wasn't in the game of course and things will change slightly from here on out. This was a tricky chapter to write, but I enjoyed writing Bendy a lot for this one. What do you guys think of Bendy? Any theories you might have? I love hearing your ideas and theories. This game definitely makes you think about what's been going on in this studio. And with the sequel on the horizon, who knows what's in store for all of us?**

 **Thank you everyone for reading! I hope I can have the next chapter done sometimes soon this summer! It'll be tough with my job and all, but I'm trying to get the next chapter done sooner. Don't forget to leave a review! I love hearing from you guys and it definitely helps encourage me to writing more! Thanks again! ^_^**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait! Work has been really intense and my schedule is all over the place. Trying to enjoy my summer as much as I can and still thinking of ideas! ALSO...that trailer for the Bendy sequel! Oh my gosh! I was screaming with excitement! Bendy and the Dark Revival will be sooooo awesome! I can't wait for this fall!**

 **By the way...THIS STORY IS OFFICIALLY ONE YEAR OLD (well a little over the date, but still lol)! I can't believe it's already been a year since I got this idea at work and I was scrambling for every scrap of paper I could get my hands on to write down every detail. Seriously! That's how this happened! I can't believe that this story has made it this far! 9 chapters in a year! Holy crap! And I'm shocked to see how many of you have read it! Seriously! I never imagined how popular this would get! I love writing this story and I'm thrilled that I'm bringing a different side of Bendy and the Ink Machine to life! I hope that you all continue to keep reading as this story unfolds. Thank you so much!**

 **I'll be honest, this chapter was a challenge for me. But in the end, I hope it's all worth it. I wanted to make sure that Jane's story could be told and I was able to capture Bendy and the others as best as I could. I hope you all enjoy this long chapter! Don't forget to leave a review for me! I seriously love getting these whenever I post a new chapter. I don't mind if they're long or short. I just want to know how I'm doing as a writer. I hope you enjoy this!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bendy and the Ink Machine! That belongs to the Meatly/Kindly Beast. I only own Jane.**

* * *

 **Review Responses: Thank you to all of you who sent reviews and for throwing out your theories! I loved hearing it! You guys are amazing! You make my dull days better with your kind words and excitement!**

 **PrincessEmag-** Indeed he does. His reasoning might be different from what she thinks, but I like where you went with that. I guess I never looked at it in that way. But there will be more to that reasoning later on down the road. You'll have to see what will happen for them in the next chapter! ;)

 **TheAmazingAuthoress-** Yeah, that's a good way of putting it. His emotions are all over the place. After all, he hasn't really had a conversation with someone in so long since he was trapped in the machine. I'm glad to hear that I made things clear! Thanks! hahaha dude I love the theories! Plus comedic ways are the best! And please don't stop haha I don't mind them at all! XD

 **JOHNHAMMOND1993-** Indeed he does love calling her Toots! Oh man...that's a great question! I love it! Uhh...wow. Sadly I don't have an answer at this time, but I'll try to have another one next time. But very good question! Adventure is out there!

 **Guest-** Wow! Really? Thank you so much! Ohhhh that's a big story. I'm truly honored to hear this. Five Nights at Freddy's is a great game too. I hope I'm doing good!

 **Princess Dash-** Awww thank you! I felt that we should've seen the monster side! Plus...this is a whole different side to Bendy.

 **GordonFreeman72-** haha it's fine! It's fine. Reading is always great and distracting. I love reading fanfics. Thank you so much! I hope it's coming off well. That's the one thing I've been worried about. I hope the growing relationship is conveying the message I'm trying to say.

 **TinyCookies123-** Indeed it does! Awww I will keep being me! You keep being you! Ohhh I'll have to look it up! Thank you for that!

* * *

 _Jane stood at the back of the massive crowd that covered most of the back yard of one of the dorms. Her eyes stayed on the lukewarm brown liquid that sloshed around the sides of the red cup in her hand. One of the girls had handed her a cup and told her to have fun._

 _ **Fun?** Getting drunk on some strange liquid was **fun**? Maybe for some people it would, but not her._

 _The stuff stunk like expired motor oil or cough syrup. Just smelling it reminded her of this old friend of her parents that would come over to visit. His clothes, breath, and skin smelt of it. Anytime she smelled that sort of beer, she always thought of that friend. Not her favorite person in the world. Definitely not, that's for sure._

 _Why was she even here again? Oh right...because her fellow roommates begged her to drive them all to the party. Then her duty was to drive them all back home when they were too drunk to do anything. Or as they said...'until we forget who we are and we'll wake up with no memory of that week of school or the test we have next Wednesday'. What a bunch of oddballs._

 _Honestly, why didn't she say no? Right now she could be in her dorm, studying for her finals. It was almost the end of the first semester and she had to focus all of her time on studying. But how could she study when her three roommates kept gossiping about who pranked the people in the dorm down the hall. And when it wasn't that, it was about who was the girl who had sneaked a boy into her dorm two days ago and was caught by security when the boy tried jumping off the balcony into the bushes. Needless to say, that guy ended up with fifteen stitches and a broken ankle._

 _Maybe she should just ask for a single dorm next semester. Less noise and more time to herself. Especially more privacy!_

 _She definitely felt out of place here. Heck, she never even attended parties in high school._

 _"Come on, Jane! Come dance with us!" one of her roommates called from the crowd of dancers._

 _Was her name Clarissa? Jane could never remember her name. She did when they introduced themselves on the first day, now all she could remember was the fact that this roommate took over the whole bathroom with her hair supplies._

 _Jane shook her head, holding the cup of nasty smelling liquid close. "That's okay. I'll just stay here and watch. I'm not much of a dancer."_

 _"Awww come on! Just take a sip of that and you won't have to worry about looking silly!" she pressured Jane into drinking while twirling one of her dark red curls around her finger._

 _But Jane was much stronger when it came to peer pressure._

 _"I'm okay." she called back, glancing down at her cup._

 _"Nissa! Come on!" one of the other girls yelled, tugging the redhead further into the crowd._

 _'Nissa! That was her name!' Jane exclaimed to herself in triumph._

 _Suddenly someone crashed into her, making the gross liquid spill all over her jacket._

 _"H-hey! Watch it!" she yelled at a hopelessly drunk guy who stumbled by her._

 _The drunk stopped, his whole body sloshing around his body like it was made of rubber, his eyes glazed over. "Whaaat? Oh heeeeey Baby." he slurred with a sloppy grin._

 _Her eyes widened as he moved closer to her, the cup falling to the ground only to be crushed by his foot._

 _"What's a sexy...little thing like you...doin' hereeee?"_

 _"I'm sorry, but I need to get to my friends." Jane politely told the drunk, trying to move past him, only to have the man grab her arm._

 _"Awww come on...stay here with me." he burped, making her groan in disgust, trying to pull her arm out of his grip._

 _"L-let go of me. Please." she tried to tell him, jerking back._

 _"Come on don't be so-"_

 _"Hey! She said to let her go." another voice spoke, making the drunk and Jane turn towards the voice._

 _Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Travis standing there, hands clenched at his sides._

 _"Back off, Man." the drunk barked, moving closer to Jane to slide an arm around her waist. "Mm...she's mine..."_

 _Jane pressed her hands against his sweaty chest, trying to get away from him. "Please s-stop..."_

 _"I think you should let her go."_

 _"And I think you should go...eat a cheeseburger." he slurred, making them both stare at him in confusion._

 _Wow, this guy was wasted._

 _Travis stood there for a moment until he held up his hands. "Okay okay, I'll back off. But...I think I should tell you that they started doing keg stands in the dorm." he spoke calmly and carefully. "And there are lots of girls wanting to see who can hold out the longest."_

 _The glazed over eyes widened in shock before the drunken stranger pushed Jane away. "Sorry Babe, but I've gotta show those ladies how it done." He stared at them for another moment before he stumbled back inside, tripping over the stairs._

 _Jane sighed heavily in relief when he finally left. "Thanks for that." she told Travis as she tried wiping the sweat and booze off of her jacket that the drunk left behind._

 _Travis sighed as well, smoothing a hand through his messy hair. "Hey, it's no problem. Sorry I didn't come sooner. Probably could've stolen you away before he soaked you."_

 _Jane let out a giggle as her cheeks grew warm. "Well...I didn't like this jacket anyways. It actually belongs to my roommate."_

 _"Well tell them that you lost it in the laundry or something. I'll even help you out and make up some story that some girl stole it. Oh! Maybe even tell her that someone needed it for an intense dance battle."_

 _She giggled again, stopping herself abruptly so she didn't sound weird. "Oh...well thanks." she replied before an awkward silence filled the air between them along with the sounds of some random song._

 _It had been several weeks since Jane had seen Travis. After their strange meeting in the library, they only saw one another about two more times. There had been a change in his schedule due to a lab being moved to the middle of the day when she had a studying break._ _Of course they texted back and forth a little, but of course, homework and studying would get in the way of all of that._

 _So it was a surprise for Jane to to see the young man again._

 _"Sooo...what brings you here?" he asked, glancing around at the various people. "This...uh...doesn't seem like your sort of place to hang out."_

 _Jane's eyes darted around, resting on her roommates, who were laughing with a few guys. "Yeah...it's not. My roommates begged me to come with them."_

 _"Did they, huh?" he mused, glancing over at them._

 _She wet her lips quickly. "Sooo...why are you here?"_

 _His head turned back, blonde curls bouncing as he went. "Oh...got bored with studying and wanted to come outside. Mostly because the racket was distracting me from memorizing the latest formula."_

 _"Which one is that?"_

 _He shot a smirk at her. "Well...would I sound lame or charming if I said it was your phone number?"_

 _Her cheeks grew warm before a laugh burst through her lips. Before she knew it, she was giggling like a school girl who was given a box of chocolates by a boy._

 _Travis smiled widely at the sound of her laughter._

 _Realizing that other students were glancing their way, she quickly covered her mouth, trying to conceal her giggles. "S-sorry. I don't laugh like this at all."_

 _He shrugged, chuckling at her. "Oh I have that affect on women."_

 _"I'm sure you do."_

 _Jane almost couldn't believe herself? Was he flirting with her? Was she flirting with him?_

 _"Well...what do you say that we go for a walk around. Seems that neither of us want to go dance like the others or getting drunk." he suggested, offering her hand. "Don't worry, we won't go far. I know you have to stick around here."_

 _She glanced down at his hand and then at her roommates. "Uh...well..."_

 _"Come on, let's live a little." he urged with a bright grin that had her nearly swooning._

 _Anxiously, she tried to fight against the voice that told her to go back to her dorm and hide from the public so she didn't screw up, but in the end, the other voice that told her to live for once won the argument._

 _Her hand touched Travis' palm gently allowing his fingers to curl around it. "Okay, let's go."_

 _After that, things really seemed to calm down throughout the night. For Jane, the party around her seemed to disappear...literally. Travis had led her away from the crowd and up to the rooftop that overlooked the whole party._

 _It seemed romantic; sitting on the roof where they were able to watch the stars while drinking cons of soda that they picked up from a local 7/11 store down the block. They talked for several hours about their lives, their dreams and aspirations, about her art, about his love for working on old cars. They could barely keep track of how many topics to discuss as well as the time that passed._

 _Jane couldn't remember the last time she had felt so happy. Her head was now resting on his shoulder while his fingers played with hers, talking about how she loved watching cartoons when she was little and helped her come up with ideas she loved to draw._

 _Then sometime later, when the sun was beginning to rise, they found themselves silent, staring into each other's eyes before he made the first move, kissing her gently. It was a sweet kiss, slightly awkward, but regardless, she couldn't stop smiling. Her first kiss and it was definitely memorable._

 _More kisses would follow over the next several months and years._

 _Quick ones were given between classes. Sweet ones when they studied or cuddled in their dorms together. Intimate ones when they said their first 'I love you's'._

 _But then...kisses were then used as a weapon. To persuade her, trick her, and even...divert her attention to the real problems that she couldn't see. The ones that blinded her...like a curtain, shielding her from the world._

 _If only she knew..._

* * *

The brunette jolted awake as the familiar and loud sounds of her cellphone rang through the room. The ringtone was the beginning bars of a heavy blues intro on the piano. For the past year, Jane questioned herself why she kept it this way. All it did was nearly give her a heart attack every time she heard it; whether if she was waking up to it or sitting in a quiet classroom only to have it go off in the middle of a test.

As she picked up the mobile, she heard a loud crash off to the side, followed by a deep groan. "Owwww...what the heck, Toots?"

Bendy, who was originally sleeping in the makeshift chair, was now on the floor and the crates were scattered throughout the corner. He rubbed his head a few times before shooting a glare her way. "Whatever that is...make it stop."

"I...I'm sorry." she apologized quickly before she glanced down at her phone. Her heart leaped in her chest when the word Henry flashed across the screen. "Oh my gosh! It's my uncle!" While Bendy grumbled a complaint across the room, Jane quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey! There you are! What happened to you, Kid? I've been worried sick about you." Henry's voice panted on the other side as if he had run a marathon.

"Oh my gosh, am I glad to hear your voice." Jane sighed in relief, grabbing at her chest, her heart thudding wildly. "I didn't think you would get this."

"I just heard your voicemail a minute ago. Sorry about that, I just back from work a few minutes ago. Got stuck on the late night shift at the store." he panted before letting out a loud sigh. "Now back to the important stuff. What exactly is going on here? You sounded really worried on the phone earlier and you said something about lying to me about where you went. I mean, if you didn't go to the beach, where did you go?"

"Who is that?" Bendy winched as he slowly got up, crawling onto one of the crates. The ink on the top of his head began sliding down the side of his left cheek. "Who are ya talking to, Toots?"

"It's my uncle." she told him before Henry spoke up.

"Wait...is someone there with you? Who is that?"

Jane met Bendy's gaze. "Uh it's...it's not important right now." she tried to tell Henry, not wanting to deal with the idea of having to explain who Bendy was. "Look...I...I need to tell you I..." she trailed off, feeling her nerves getting the best of her.

"Tell me what? Where are you, Kid?"

Her mouth opened, but no words were coming out. The fear at the back of her mind was beginning to cloud her thoughts. Would Henry be mad? Disappointed? She could practically hear what sorts of things her parents would say to her.

 _'What were you thinking?'_

 _'Are you completely insane? We didn't raise our daughter to be so foolish!'_

Her stomach churned at the thought.

"Jane? Are you still there?" Henry spoke gently into her ear, breaking Jane's thoughts.

Bendy tilted his head to the side, watching Jane freeze up for a moment. What was wrong with her? She was just fine earlier once she calmed down from the showdown with Sammy.

"Hey Kid, if you think I'm going to be mad at you, I'm not. You just sounded really...scared earlier."

She licked her lips before leaning down, resting her arm on her legs. "Yeah, I...I just don't know what to say..."

"Just tell me the truth, Kid. I won't get too mad at you, depending on where you **_really_** are." he began before trailing off. "You uh...you didn't do something stupid did you?"

"Well...in a way..." she winced, waiting for the angry blow that she was used to hearing from people.

"What does ' _in a way_ ' mean?"

"I...um..."

There was a long pause on Henry's end, making her heart sink.

But he let her know that he was still there by letting out a cough. "Uh...look, Kid. I'm not sure what's going on over there or why you're so hesitant on telling me, but you know it's me you're talking to. I'm not going to be the bad guy here and yell at you like you broke a vase or something. Remember when you broke the bird bath in the front yard with your bike all those years ago?"

"Yeah..."

"And do you remember what happened?"

She scratched the back of her head, pacing in front of Bendy, who was still remained standing by her. "Yeah...you saw what I did and you told me that it was an improvement."

"Yep." he responded, popping the 'p' at the end. "And did I yell at you?"

"No..."

"No, I did not. It was an accident." Then he sighed. "Jane, I know you're used to having your mom and dad get mad over the dumbest stuff, but you know that I'm not like them. That's what made your dad and I different growing up. I'm the more rational brother and I'm always willing to listen to you. Okay?"

"O-okay..." Jane mumbled, taking a deep breath before she sat down on a nearby crate.

Henry was right. She knew him better than anyone else. Henry was always by her side no matter what. He wasn't her parents nor was Henry like... ** _him_**. Henry would understand...hopefully.

"Good, now just take a deep breath and tell me what's going on. Tell me where you are and I'll come get you."

"What's he sayin'?" Bendy asked, limping over to the crate that was sitting near her.

Jane lifted her head to look at her new inky friend. "I...he..."

"Jane, is someone there with you? I can hear someone else's voice."

"Well...I uh..." Biting her lower lip, she shook her head. "Okay, I...I did something pretty stupid."

On the other side, Henry let out a short laugh. "What? Did you drive off to casino and bet all you had on those slot machine things?"

That made a short laugh escape her lips at the preposterous idea. She barely even gambled when she was in college and everyone went through that poker phase. "Well...honestly that wouldn't be so terrible at the moment."

Much better than her current situation.

Then Henry groaned over the phone. "Don't tell me you got arrested for something. Punching a cop or got caught stealing?"

"Seriously?" Jane scoffed, rubbing her knee. "You honestly think that I punched a cop instead of obeying? And when have I ever stolen anything?"

"Well...you did steal my remote and took it home with you that one time."

She rolled her eyes. "It was one time! And I was five! I was just a baby!"

Henry chuckled. "What about my tuna sandwich?"

"Your tuna-" she started before letting out a laugh. "Hey, why would I steal that? I _**hate**_ tuna."

Bendy watched Jane with fascination. Watching her smile and laugh at whatever the person on the phone was telling her. He wondered what they were discussing, but whatever it was, it made Jane happy. She wasn't crying anymore nor was the look of fear on her face. Whoever this guy was on the phone, he was making her feel better.

"I thought you hated liverwurst."

" _ **Everyone**_ hates liverwurst!" she replied with a crinkle of her nose. "Just like nobody likes bologna sandwiches."

"Well I guess we can agree on that one, Kid." he chuckled softly on the other side. It felt good to hear a friendly and familiar voice.

Bendy's eyebrows furrowed. "What's liverwurst? Never heard of the stuff."

Her eyes shifted to Bendy's onyx orbs filled with curiosity. "It's the worst kind of meat you could ever put on a sandwich."

"Huh, well that's one thing I won't try in life." he replied while Jane shot a quick smile his way.

"Who is that in the background, Jane? Oh wait, I've got it! Did you run off and get married on me and not invite your favorite uncle?" Henry asked, breaking the small moment between them.

Bendy's eyes widened comically before a a slightly grayed color tinted his white cheeks. " ** _M-married?!_** What did we get hitched, Toots?" Bendy exclaimed, making Jane blush. "I mean, I know we just met and all-"

"N-no! No we didn't!" Jane stuttered embarrassingly, her cheeks turning pink. Did Henry seriously just assume that she got married?! And Bendy thought it meant them?! Marriage? To an ink demon? The idea sounded crazier than this whole place in general, and Joey Drew Studios was full of ludicrous ideas!

The ink demon seemed just as embarrassed as she did at the moment.

" ** _'We'_**? Who's ' ** _we_** '? Who is that with you?" Then Henry paused for a second or two. "I mean, if you got back with your ex..." he trailed off before his tone became serious. "I think we should discuss why that doesn't-"

"No! Never! I would never get back with him." she hissed, her heart aching for a moment at the thought of his face. "He's dead to me, alright?"

She could still see him now. Sandy blonde locks that needed a desperate haircut, icy blue eyes that could see into her soul...filled with hate and disgust, soft lips that could either render her speechless or...tell the most horrible lies and manipulate anyone into believing him. The things he could say...such vile things.

Swallowing the lump in the back of her throat, she quickly shook her head. She couldn't think about him right now.

"Anyways, I just...I don't know how to tell you this. I just...I'm stuck and I...I can't get out."

"You're stuck? Stuck where?"

"I'm at-"

Suddenly room began to shake around them, causing a few knickknacks and cans to fall off the shelves above. The floor rumbled beneath Jane's feet, making her stumble a little while dust from the walls and the ceiling began clouding the room.

Jane's eyes widened in horror as she looked to her inky friend. "B-Bendy...what's happ-"

Suddenly a board in the ceiling collapsed at Jane's feet and a dark blob of ink began to drip down towards her. The blob became a hand, making the woman shriek in fear. As it reached for her, Bendy threw a chair at the hand, making the whatever it was attached to pull back up into the hole.

"Jane?!" Henry yelled through the phone. "What's happening?! Are you okay?"

Jane moved back, trembling as another board crashed at her feet, making her yelp. "I...I don't know what's happening!"

A low growl rumbled through Bendy's chest as he picked up the glass that Jane had been using and threw it at the hand that tried to reach in again. "They found us, Toots!"

Something began beating at the metal shutter, making Jane scream, backing away as far as she could. "What do you mean? How?!"

"That darn contraption of yours let them know where we were!"

She gaped at him. "What?! I-I didn't know they would-" she began before letting out another scream as something grabbed her from behind, yanking her against the wall. The phone fell to the floor while Henry continued to yell frantically.

"Bendy!" Jane screeched as an inky hand pulled at her neck, trying to yank her through the wall as it choked her.

Bendy growled, charging towards her to grab onto the fingers. "Hang on, Toots. I've gotcha!" He managed to pry the fingers off her neck, allowing fresh air to fill Jane's lungs once again.

When she was free, she darted away from the wall to pick up the fallen cellphone. "Are you still there?!"

"Jane! What the heck is going on there?! Where are you?!" Henry's panicked voice yelled back.

Biting her lower lip, Jane let out a short whimper. "Henry, I'm at the studio!" Jane cried into the phone, feeling her stomach drop. There it was, out in the open for Henry to judge.

"Studio? What studio, Jane?"

Another board crashed to her left while Bendy threw a forgotten boot at the hand that was trying to grab her by the hair. Where did he find all these weird items?!

"I'm at Joey Drew Studios!"

There was a short pause as the information soaked in for a moment.

"You're what?"

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry, Uncle Henry." she wailed, trembling as she shrunk into a corner. "And I'm sorry for not listening to you. I just...I didn't mean to disobey you or anything. I just-"

"Jane? You're gonna have to repeat that. I didn't hear you. You're where?" Henry yelled into the phone.

Did he not hear her? No...was she losing service?! No! This couldn't happen! Not now!

"Henry! I'm at Joey Drew Studios! I tried to go see Joey and talk but I'm trapped! And I can't get out and there are...things trying to hurt me and-"

"Jane? Hey! Hello?"

Suddenly the phone cut off, causing Jane's stomach to plummet when the sound of the dial tone rang in her ear. Her body tensed up, her fingers curling around the mobile. No...no this...this wasn't happening right now. It just can't!

"Toots! Toots! Hey! Wake up!" Bendy yelled, breaking her out of her numb spell for a moment. Her head turned to see Bendy fighting off the shutter that shielded them off from the halls, which now had ink seeping through the sides and bottom of the door. Were they going to drown in the ink?!

"Help me out here, Toots! Don't just stand there!"

Jane cursed under her breath, pocketing the cell phone before rushing to his aide. She quickly pressed herself against the metal, trying to assist the demon.

"What do we do?! Did your uncle say somethin'?!" Bendy asked frantically as he tried to keep the door from opening, fists clenched and teeth gritting together.

She shook her head quickly. "My phone died."

His face fell as he stared down at her worriedly. Bendy could see the hurt and devastation in her eyes. Something that he feared to see once again after everything she had been through. "So what now?"

Jane opened and closed her mouth a few times. "I...I don't know. I don't think he heard me when I told him where I was." Then she met his gaze. "What are we going to do?"

Bendy frowned before gritting his teeth hard. His glassy eyes searched the room until they landed on the storage closet. "Plan B, Toots." Then he quickly rushed from the shutter, limping towards the back room. "Come on."

Jane followed behind the demon, snatching up her backpack on the way. She did one quick glance around to make sure that she had everything. Nothing surrounded her except for dark ink that could swallow her up in one gulp.

Suddenly Bendy grabbed Jane's arm, yanking her inside with him, making her yelp. When they were both inside, Bendy pulled the door shut, locking it tightly before moving a box or two to hold the door up.

"How is this going to help us?" she exclaimed, looking at the rather foolish attempt at keeping them safe.

"It'll buy us some time." he responded as he knelt on the floor.

"And then what?" she squeaked, hugging herself tightly as her eyes shifted from the door and the inky demon who was now pulling on the vent. "What are you doing?"

"There's only...one way out..." he grunted as he pulled on it as hard as he could. "Of this gosh darn...closet." There was a loud creak before the vent gave away and feel to the floor with a loud clatter. "Phew. Haven't used this in some time." Bendy managed a toothy grin as he lifted his head. "This is the best way to travel in this place."

Jane bent her knees to get a good look at what he was showing off. "Wait...what?"

"Everyone around here travel in various ways, but when you've hit a dead end, the best way to travel is through these here vents. And right now, you're gonna have to crawl through here to escape."

"What?!" she exclaimed in panic, moving backwards into the wall of the closet, the backpack on her shoulders sliding to the floor behind her. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Oh come on, it's easier than it looks. These vents lead all through the studio. They'll get you far away from this place and hopefully somewhere safe."

"I escape?" she stuttered, crouching down to examine the duct. "Through here? Now I really think I'm going insane..." Jane ran a hand through her hair as she stood back up, nearly tripping over the large backpack, sending her back against the wall.

It seemed rather big than the ones she had seen around campus, but on the other hand, she knew she wasn't the smallest person. Bendy was much skinnier than she was.

 _'Maybe you should forget about the chips. You know, you're looking a little...chubby right now.'_

Jane shut her eyes tightly at the sound of a familiar voice echoing through her head again. "No...shut up." A weight began pressing against her chest as her breathing became shallow.

 _'Clearly you really need to lose some weight. I mean, I want you to be beautiful because I love you. But seriously, you have to do better.'_

She could feel the anxiety creeping through her chest just like those days in college. No, she wasn't chubby. She wasn't.

Something grabbed her shoulders, gently shaking her. "Toots!"

Her eyes shot open to stare back into the glassy dark orbs.

"What's goin' on with ya? Ya keep zonin' out and at the worst possible time." he asked, his eyes searching through hers. What was wrong with her? She panicked when she saw him the first time and when Sammy cornered her, but this time...he wasn't sure what scared her like this. No...this was different.

Jane felt fear render her motionless and her mouth quivering. "I...I can't do this..."

Worry crossed his features. "What? What do ya mean there, Toots? What do ya mean ya can't do it?"

Tears began filling her eyes. "I can't..."

"Why?"

Her arms shook along with her legs as if they could barely support her. "I...I can't..." she whimpered, making him frown.

"Toots, ya have to get outta here." Bendy told her sternly, but calmly as he gently took her hands in his. "Those things out there are gonna hurt ya."

Shaking her head frantically, Jane tried to find her voice. "I can't crawl through there. I won't fit." Warm tears were rolling down her cheeks as she stood there, the ink demon staring her right in the eyes. "I'm too chubby..."

Bendy blinked a few times, his head tilting to the side. "What? Of course you'll fit. I mean, it's the only way you're gonna make it outta here alive."

Her stomach churned at the thought of never making it out of here alive. A loud crash and the sound of metal scraping made both of them jump. The blobs must have broken through the shutter.

"Look..." Bendy began as his eyes went to the vent for a moment. "It's not that far of a crawl. I've seen bigger blobs out there fit through these things. Not sure if it's a compliment or not humans, but you're much smaller than most folks around here."

The pressure on her chest eased for a few moments as she tried to calm her nerves. She couldn't fall apart like this. Her life was on the line and she needed to survive.

"I'll hold them off and ya can crawl through the vents. It'll be a piece of cake."

Jane let out a shaky breath. "But what about you? Aren't you coming with me?"

Gritting his teeth, he glanced back at the door, which was now surrounded by ink. "I've gotta stay and hold them off so you can escape to the other side. I'll come find you later."

"What?!"

"Just crawl through the tunnels and it should be far away from here. I can handle them alone."

"No!" she blurted out, making Bendy turn to face her. "I...I can't leave you to get hurt."

Bendy let out a snort. "Don't worry about me, Toots! They're a couple of little ones. I can handle them. Heck, I've survived in that machine for long enough. But Toots, I don't think ya can grow limbs back or anythin'."

Her face paled at that. "Oh...great."

He began ushering her to the vent. "Just get outta here. Find a place to hide and stay there until I find you."

"But-"

"No buts, Doll. It'll be okay. Don't worry so much." he chuckled shortly, trying to keep some humor alive between them.

She blinked a few times. "I...I'm not that worried." she mumbled, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

Bendy rolled his eyes. "Whatever ya say, Toots."

She opened her mouth to retort, but the sound of something crashing made them both jump.

"How many times have I gotta say it, Dollface?" he exclaimed, pushing her towards the vent opening. "Get outta here!"

"But-"

"I told ya before, no buts! Now crawl fast until ya find your way out!" he informed, pushing her backpack at her. "I'll find ya!"

Trembling slightly, she gripped her pack like a lifeline. "But how? I mean...I don't know where I'll end up."

"It should let ya out in one of the hallways. It won't be near the music department so ya don't have to worry about Sammy's goons comin' after ya." he informed her, frowning at the look of fear on her face. "Don't worry, it'll be okay. I'll come find you, Jane."

Jane chewed on her lower lip at the sound of her name coming off his lips. "O-okay..."

Bendy reached into the vent, placing a hand on her trembling shoulder. "I'll see you soon. Trust me."

Trust? Trust him?

Even if Jane still wasn't sure what Bendy's intentions were, she had nobody else in this. Henry still wasn't aware where she was and everyone else was out to get her. But Bendy...even if he was slightly possessive over keeping her, he was still trying to help her escape the threat that was bursting through the doors.

She managed a nod, before putting the backpack over her shoulders. "Okay, I'll see you soon."

He smiled down at her, his lips pulling back to reveal a big toothy grin.

But the moment was destroyed when a piece of the door shattered, making them both gasp in shock as a hand reached through the door.

Bendy met her gaze again. "Go!"

Quickly, he placed the vent cover back over, leaving Jane in the darkness. She almost wanted to call out to Bendy, but the sound of something roaring on the other side had Jane scrambling backwards, away from the vent door as quick as possible. Her stomach churned nervously and her blood ran cold at the familiar sound of Bendy probably transforming into that beast like before.

When something smashed into the vent, that was her cue to turn over onto her hands and knees to begin crawling down the vent. It was so dark that she couldn't see the vent ahead or even her own fingers. How was she supposed to find her way out of here?!

Either way, she had to try and get as far away as she could.

* * *

 **I originally planned on this chapter being longer, but I decided to cut it in half and save the rest for the next chapter! I can't believe we're almost ten chapters in! YAY! I can't tell you how difficult this chapter was to write. Honestly, I struggled with this chapter so much over the last few months, but I'm proud to say that it's finally done and I'm excited to work on the next portion. I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter and that you're all enjoying this!**

 **Please let me know what you think of the story and how I'm portraying the characters! I hope I'm doing a good job out there. Thank you everyone! ^_^**

 **(Also don't forget...DARK REVIVAL IS COMING! ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait, but I've had a lot going on in the last few months. Had a double family death (within the same weekend) and my grandma found out she had stage four cancer the same day one of them died and then passed away about two months later. So yeah...it's been a rough few months. I haven't had much time or effort to write lately since this story can get dark at times, but I'm back and I'm ready to get this story back on the road again. I know we're all waiting for the Dark Descent and to see where this game story is going!**

 **On the side, I wrote a new story within the My Hero Academia fandom. If you have a chance, you should definitely check it out! It's a little more lighthearted compared to this one lol ^_^**

 **Thank you everyone who put me on your alerts, favorite lists, and reviewed. I love hearing what you guys think and what sorts of theories you have. I hope you guys enjoy the next chapter! Don't be shy to leave a review! I love hearing what you guys have to say! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bendy and the Ink Machine! That belongs to the Meatly/Kindly Beast. I only own Jane.**

* * *

 **Review Responses:** Thank you to all the amazing people who made the last few months better for me. It's been a rough few months and I appreciate your nice words.

 **BeebooattheDisco:** Ohhhh my gosh! Thank you! I'm sorry! Life happens and it's kept me so busy! I swear, I'm not trying to torture! I'm glad to see that you're catching on so fast. And it was Travis! lol I loved doing the Jane and Henry moments. Henry seems like such a nice guy and I wanted him to be a good uncle to her! The one she can depend on! Awww I like that idea and I really loved this review! Thank you again and I hope you continue to read!

 **TinyCookies12637:** Yay! Thank you!

* * *

As Jane crawled through the ventilation shaft, she could smell the scent of burning metal and ink fill her nose. And boy was it awful. The cold temperature of the vent didn't help her as she trembled with every second that she was in the enclosed space.

After she felt that it was far enough from the entrance and whatever Bendy was fighting off, she took her backpack off and began searching through the bigger compartment. "There's gotta be some flashlight in here." she mumbled, searching through it frantically. "I know there's one in here."

Her fingers grazed over various objects in her pack, but nothing felt like a flashlight. A wallet, an umbrella, a semi melted candy bar, a granola bar, an old shirt, but nothing else. "At least I can use the shirt later..." she grumbled before trying to find another pocket to unzip. "You just had to wade into that ink earlier. Why couldn't you have just said 'gee, that looks like a bad idea' and walked away?"

As she searched through the front pocket, the sound of something crashing echoed through the vent, causing Jane to jolt. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and goosebumps covered her arms. Her heart began to race as she kept feeling around. "Crap...crap...crap..." Another crash echoed through the vents, making Jane panic as she felt around on the very bottom of the pack. "Come on...come on...where are you?" she whispered hurriedly, her eyes darting back and forth even if she couldn't see.

When her fingers finally touched something metal, she couldn't help but let out a shaky sigh of relief as she pulled it out. Locating the button, she clicked on the small flashlight that was about the size of her hand. The beam came on, shining a small light that lit up the vent and shone down the tunnel.

Jane had a chance to look both ways to find herself alone in the ventilation system. "Good...this is...semi good..." she whispered to herself, even if she knew it still wasn't safe. Here she was, hiding in a vent that was way too small for her and she had no idea where she was going.

There was only one thing to do. Find a way out.

Jane zipped her backpack back up and slid it over a shoulder while balancing the flashlight in her hand. She began crawling again, trying to find an exit.

With every second that passed, Jane felt like it was taking forever to get through this. The pipe that she was currently in seemed to go on for miles! Her breathing was shallow as she felt the walls closing in on her and the fear in her body was expanding. She felt a pressure sitting on her chest as her mind raced.

Henry still didn't know where she was. Sammy's ink blobs were coming after her. Bendy was no longer by her side and was fighting off enemies for her. And above all else, she was alone once again.

She stopped for a moment to take a breather, running a hand through her hair, tugging on her stands a little hard. "Come on...you can do this." she told herself, trying to calm herself down. "You did it before. You can do it again. Just keep going."

 _'Stop doing that. You're embarrassing me. Just shut up and come on.'_ the familiar voice scolded her, making her heart drop and her throat swell.

Her body began to tense up as she sat on her backside. "No...no...no no no no no..." Jane whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut. "Stop...just...leave me alone..."

 _'Babe, can you just stop doing that for like five seconds? People are staring. You're making yourself look like a mental patient.'_

Jane began frantically shaking her head. "No. You're not here...you're not here...you can't control me." She tugged at her hair again while her pulse began to quicken. "You're not here..."

As Jane started rocking back and forth, repeating the phrase over and over, while the familiar voice continued to throw insults at her. But suddenly, another voice slowly flowed through her mind like a wave on the ocean, causing the hurtful voice to disappear.

 _'Don't worry, Toots. It'll be okay. I'll come find you.'_ Bendy's calming words spoke to her mentally.

A strange feeling rushed over her, making her anxiety freeze for a moment.

At the memory of Bendy's reassurance, Jane tried to take a few deep breaths until her nerves calmed for a few moments. Her shoulders fell, breathing turned to normal, and the tense feeling in her stomach and chest eased as well.

"He's coming to get me when he's done. He's coming to get me." she recited slowly, releasing her hair and dropping her arms.

Bendy was going to find her later. He was going to help her through this.

Well what other choice did she have right now? Everyone so far was trying to kill her. Bendy was the only one who didn't seem keen on ending her life. Hopefully he would find her.

Hopefully.

After a few slow breaths, she rolled back onto her hands and knees. With a flashlight in hand, she continued to crawl through the vent, taking a few turns here and there.

Finally, as she turned the next corner, saw a ventilation door at the end of the tunnel. She only turned off the flashlight for a moment to see if it was an exit.

True enough, there were lights shining through the slits in the door.

Relief filled her chest as she turned the flashlight back on again, crawling towards the door to freedom.

Once at the end, she pushed on the metal gently, but it wouldn't budge. With a bit more force, she leaned against it. It still remained unmovable. "Come on..." she grumbled before another idea came to her. Rotating herself around, she pressed her shoes up against the grate and began stomping her feet against it. One stomp wasn't enough. But the second one, no luck either.

Over and over, Jane kept stomping against it, her legs aching with each hit.

"Come on. Move." she grunted before using her legs again. "I'm definitely going to have to go back to the gym at this point if I ever get out of here..."

Not that she really even started.

On the seventeenth time, she was able able to send the cover flying until it crashed into the wall ahead.

She cringed at the sound of a loud crash that echoed through the room before sliding out of the vent and into the dimly lit hallway.

Jane took a moment to turn off the light and slid it into a side pocket on her backpack to save for later. Cautiously, stood to her feet and glanced down both sides of a long hallway that seemed to go for quite awhile.

"Looks safe...for now..." she told herself as she began moving. As she walked down the hall, running a hand through her inky coated hair, Jane tried to take in her surroundings. The hall had no doors, but had several empty desks and crates sitting on the floor.

Sighing heavily, Jane lowered the backpack to the floor and sat down on a nearby crate that rested against the wall. "What did you get yourself into, Jane?" she mumbled before pulling out her cellphone that was still in her pocket. The screen was dark and wasn't turning on anymore. "Dead...just great..."

She leaned her head back, looking towards vent to see if Bendy was following behind her. Did he make it through? Did he win the fight? Worry began setting in as Jane stared at the dark tunnel ahead. "Don't leave me like this right now..." she whispered, pocketing the phone and biting her lip, her feet kicking back and forth against the crate. "Come on..."

There was a small crunch that echoed through the silent hall, making Jane jolt forward to see if something was coming.

However, when she looked down, she found a piece of crumpled paper under her shoe. "What's this?" She picked up the paper and pulled the paper apart to see what looked like a journal entry. The words were slightly faded and weathered, but she was still able to read the words on the page.

 _'It's dark. I can barely recall what's happened, but there are parts I can remember. I'm not sure if anyone will read this or not...or if you'll even know who or where I might be...but I have to put my thoughts down. To tell you who I am before I forget who I am. My memories of who I used to be and are fading.'_

Jane frowned as she continued on. What was going on? Who was this?

 _'I was a nobody. A small meek person from a small town. Didn't know what my purpose in life was. My mother used to tell me that I was meant for great things. My father...told me I was meant to work in the family business. Canning fruits didn't seem like a thing that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I remember the day I told him that I wanted to move away and search for a purpose. I can still remember the look of disgust on his face when I said I was leaving. Even now, I can hear that voice, 'you'll never amount to anything. You'll just come back a nobody because that's what you are'. And that was it. From that moment on, I left home and I never turned back.'_

Jane lifted her eyes for a moment, glancing down the hall to make sure nothing was coming. When the coast was clear, she went back to reading.

 _'After I left, I went looking for my purpose in life. That's when I found Joey Drew Studios. I wasn't really sure what to think when I was approached by their music director, Sammy Lawrence. He saw me waiting tables at a nearby diner and told me that my voice was made for cartoons. It's kind of funny when I think back on that. I should've just told him 'no thanks' and got back to my tables. Instead, I indulged him and listened to those...things he called compliments. I should've just walked away, instead I found myself saying yes to his offer. Next thing I knew, I was in the booth recording voices and I was on the payroll. Honestly, it was nice for awhile. But then things became...insane.'_

Jane cringed as she flipped the page and a cold chill ran up her spine.

 _'I don't remember how it happened exactly, but...what I do know is...I'm not who I once was. I'm not myself and I don't know what's happening. All I know is now...I'm never getting out of here. I will probably die here, and nobody will ever know where I am or what happened to me.'_

The last line made Jane's blood run cold. The paper shook in her hands before it fluttered to the floor below.

A crash from the side made her jump. Quickly, she wrapped her arms around herself tightly. _'No...this cant be how it ends.'_ Her body trembled as her lips quivered, fear creeping up her spine. If whoever wrote that letter was gone...supposedly. Who was to say that Jane was the next victim?

"I'm going to die here." she whispered under her breath, squeezing her eyes shut.

When another crash nearby alerted her, Jane jerked her head towards the end of the hall to see a dark figure standing there with its' arms raised. Her heart dropped and goosebumps appeared on her flesh. _'What was that?!'_

The figured stared for another moment, dropping its' arms slowly.

Jane felt her chest rising and falling quickly as her heart pounded in her chest. "What..." she whispered softly and sharply. "What is that?"

It tilted its' head to the side for a moment before it turned down the hall at which it came from and suddenly dashed away in the opposite direction.

She was about to release the breath that she had been holding when a few inky blobs rushed past the hall, following after the figure.

There were several crashes and a few grunted groans echoing through the hall, followed by a whimper just like a dog would make.

Jane fought against her thoughts of ignoring it and climbing back into the vent, and slowly got up. Her curiosity go the best of her, blocking out all fear as she rushed down the hall after the figure, trying to keep her feet light as she stayed on her toes. _'One quick look won't hurt.'_

She peered around the corner to see that the hall continued down for awhile. "Where did you go?" she whispered to herself as she began creeping her way down the hall.

There were several more crashes at the end, making her freeze. When she did, she finally spied about three blobs huddled around something. The whimpering filled the hallway along with the sounds of groaning.

 _'What are those blobs doing over there?'_ she asked herself. Were they looking for her?

Another loud whimper sounded, breaking off Jane's thoughts. Was that a cry for help?

One of the blobs threw a box off to the side, making Jane shrink back, while the one of the blob's held up a big hand as if it was going to strike. Those blobs wanted something and whatever it was, it didn't want to be found.

Jane felt fear creeping up her spine. What if someone was in danger? What if it was someone else just like her? Could there be someone else down here?

Another blob groaned as they grabbed a board and held it up.

The young woman gasped and her hands went to work immediately, trying to locate a weapon. Locating a board against the wall, she picked it up and rushed into the mix without another thought, swinging it wildly.

Loud splashes and groans echoed through Jane's ears as she kept swinging.

The blobs tried to fight back, but it was futile as they were destroyed within moments.

When things grew silent again, Jane stopped swinging and let out a sigh as glanced around at the reduced puddles of ink. "Huh, guess I'm getting better at defending myself."

A whine erupted by her side, making the girl jump. It sounded desperate and scared.

Jane's fingers tightened around the board in her hands as she slowly turned to stare into the corner. There was a large shelf surrounded by several crates and boxes. A dark shadow was crouched down behind the shelf.

Taking a deep breath, Jane moved toward the shelf, trying to stay calm. Could this be a friend or foe? Either way, she had to find out. On the positive side, she had a weapon at least.

"It's okay now, they're gone." she began, creeping closer, holding tightly to the board in her hands. One more step had the figure lifting its head to look at her.

When he did, Jane's mouth dropped and her eyes grew wide.

The creature had tall pointed ears, big black eyes, and a dog-like face. Jane had seen that face for years whenever she watched Bendy cartoons with Uncle Henry. She always adored how cute the character was and how mischievous he was towards Bendy. Now that he was in the flesh by her side, she wasn't sure what to think.

"B-Boris?" her voice wavered with shock as she stared at the wolfish character with wide eyes.

The cartoon's eyes widened before he quickly buried his face behind his lanky dark arms. His body trembled as he moved further into the corner, sliding behind the shelf even further.

Realizing that he didn't seem like a threat, her heart slowly sank. The board slowly slipped from her hands as she let it rest on the floor. "Hey hey, it's okay." Jane told him softly, taking a step towards him.

A small whimper came from the corner, making Jane's heart ache. He was scared? Well...after the blobs came after him, who wouldn't be?

As he continued to shake, Jane tried to to let things sink in.

Boris the Wolf was actually...alive? How was this possible?! Then again...most things in the last several hours seemed impossible, but true. But a living cartoon character...this was insane!

But seeing him scared in real life...it made Jane's practically sick at this point. The poor thing looked traumatized.

What could she do?

It didn't seem like Boris would hurt her. He seemed innocent enough, just like Jack Fain did. And he wasn't attacking her like Sammy or like the other blobs did. Maybe Boris was just another innocent creature who was just trying to survive.

Wetting her lips, Jane took another step closer. "B-Boris..." Jane began, her mouth a little dry. "I...I'm not here to hurt you. Those blob creatures are gone."

The wolf still never moved as he continued to tremble.

 _'Well...words aren't working. Better try something else.'_ Jane thought to herself as she set the board against the wall. Then she turned her backpack around and began rummaging through it.

While she searched, she failed to see that Boris was now lifting his head from his arms. He blinked a few times, his head tilting to the side, watching with curiosity.

When Jane managed to find something, she held it up in the air. The light glinted off the shiny wrapper of a granola bar. She wasn't sure what Boris would think of the small treat, but it was worth a shot.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, crouching down beside him.

His head tilted to the other side.

She slowly unwrapped it, the crinkling of the wrapper filling the room. "It's food. Do you want some?" she asked him before taking a small chunk off the top and popped it into her mouth to show that it wasn't dangerous.

The second it touched her tongue, Jane suppressed a sigh. It had been so long since she had eaten anything. The taste of granola mixed with dried fruits filled her mouth and nearly caused her to moan at the the relief the bar had given her.

Boris' nose lifted like a cartoon dog and began sniffing the air.

When Jane swallowed the bite, she held the bar out to him. "See? It's not bad. I'm not here to hurt you." Then she broke another piece off and held it out to him. "Here, you can have some."

It took a few moments before Boris slowly leaned over, his arm reaching towards the offering.

"That's it. Nothing to worry about." Jane cooed softy. "Just some tasty food."

When he was barely a few inches from her, Boris held out a shaky hand that trembled in the air. Being the kind soul that she was, Jane gently placed the chunk of granola in his hand, or well...his glove.

When he sensed that he wasn't in danger, Boris quickly took the snack and popped it under his snout where his mouth was. He chomped for a few moments, keeping his rather big eyes on hers.

Jane was completely shocked and awed at the character before her. Boris the Wolf, one of the sweetest and most mischievous characters in the Bendy cartoon was actually sitting in front of her! This was completely surreal!

He was rather big with inky dark skin like Bendy. His face was as exactly as the cartoon depicted, a face like a dog or a wolf with a large snout with a black nose and pointed ears that pointed up to the ceiling. His glassy eyes were just as big as Bendy's eyes. And just like the cartoon, Boris wore a pair of ratty overalls that seemed to be white at one point and now was faded and yellow.

His nose bopped up and down as he finished chewing and swallowed the granola.

Quickly, she pulled another piece off and offered it to Boris. This time, he practically snatched it from her, popping it into his mouth.

A shaky smile appeared on Jane's lips. It was rather strange and yet comical. It was like the character had stepped out of the television set and was standing before her. Oh wait...that was actually happening.

"That good for you, Boris?"

His eyes met hers as he chewed. No words left his mouth or any sound to indicate that he could speak.

Jane sat there awkwardly, wondering if he would ever speak like Bendy.

Was he like Bendy? Well for starters, he didn't talk in complete sentences like Bendy. And he definitely didn't speak like Sammy did. He just whimpered and whined like a dog. Actually, from the way that he was acting...he kind of reminded her of Jack Fain back in the sewers. Maybe he didn't have a voice. He was silent just like some of the other ink blobs out there.

Except for Boris, he was a living character! There didn't seem to be a certain thing out of place. He wasn't creepy and dripping ink all over the floor like Sammy, the blobs, or Bendy.

When he finished eating, he slowly bopped his head up and down, answering her question.

Jane felt her heart lighten. _'Oh my gosh, that's so cute!'_ she squealed mentally. _'If things weren't so bleak right now, I'd probably hug the wolf for that.'_

Suddenly another crash followed by a growl made them both freeze.

"Oh boy..." she whispered softly.

Before she could say anything else, Boris suddenly stood up, practically towering over her.

Jane let out a gasp as she stood as well. Boris was about six feet tall and made her feel smaller than him. When she opened her mouth to say something, Boris reached over, wrapping his large fingers around her arm before tugging her towards him.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" she squeaked before be began yanking her along with his as he began rushing down the opposite way of the hall.

The cartoon ran past several doorways, up and down a few sets of stairs, and around a couple corners.

"Boris! Stop I need to go back!" Jane shouted, thinking about Bendy waiting for her.

What if he came back for her?! Would he assume the worst?

"Boris!" Jane shouted again as he turned another corner and then glanced around when they reached a fork in the hallway.

There was a crash behind them, prompting Boris to drag Jane down a corridor where several machines and gears were turning.

At the end of the hall, Boris finally stopped in front of a huge door that had a dial on the front of it, just like a vault.

Jane stared at the door for a moment before turning her head towards Boris. "What are you..."

Boris dropped her hand and began working at the dial, turning it from side to side, trying to find the combination. Once it was found, the door creaked opened and Boris grabbed Jane by the arm, tugging her into the room before shutting the door with a loud slam. A loud click was heard, sealing them inside the small room.

Jane glanced around the rather large room in shock. It looked like a little apartment. There was a small kitchen in the corner next to a dining table with several papers scattered across. It looked rather...homey.

"Wow..." she awed softly.

Boris turned to her and held out his arms to adjust to the room as if he was saying 'welcome to my place'.

"Is this where you live?" she asked tentatively, walking around to look at her surroundings.

The dog bopped his head up and down before turning to walk down a hallway.

Jane slowly followed him, taking in the rest of the place. It was a long hallway that led to a public bathroom with two stalls and a small room with a hammock and several boxes. There were poka-dot underwear and trousers hanging everywhere.

"Oh..uh..." she stuttered as she stared at them before meeting Boris' eyes. "Nice place you have here."

Not saying a word, he took her hand and pulled her back to the small bedroom and pointed to the hammock.

Scrunching her face in confusion, she tried to think of what he was trying to say to her. Was he showing off his bed? Or was he offering it?

"It's uh...it's a nice bed, Boris." she told him with a hesitant smile. "Looks...comfy."

He continued to stare, making her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Can...can you speak at all, Boris?"

Lowering his head, he shook it slowly.

Another silent one. Wow...this place just wasn't fair to some of these creatures down here.

Biting her lip, Jane tried to ask something different. "Can you understand me?"

A nod this time.

So he could understand, but he couldn't talk.

A light bulb went off in her head as an idea popped up. Quickly, she reached into her backpack and felt around until she located a notebook. "Boris! Can you write?"

His head shot up and his dark eyes widened. Suddenly, he rushed past her into the main room. A few crashes echoed before Boris rushed back in with a pencil.

She handed the notebook over and watched as the cartoon flipped it open to a blank page. He began scribbling a few words onto the page before turning it so she could read.

 ** _'Yes I can.'_**

A gentle smile appeared on her lips. "Good. I think we should use the notebook for now. Make things easier."

Boris nodded again before gesturing her to follow him back to the main room.

Now they were sitting across from one another at the table, the notepad between them.

Jane had taken her backpack off and was now trying to finally relax.

Boris began writing down on the notepad before sliding the book over to her.

 _ **'What is your name?'**_

She glanced at the note before meeting his gaze. "Oh...well my name is Jane."

 ** _'Nice name.'_** Boris wrote before blinking a few times.

A smile crept on her lips. "Thank you. Do you have a name? Or do you just go by Boris?"

He hesitated for a moment before responding. _**'I don't really know my real name, but I'm fine with being called Boris.'**_

"Okay...Boris..." she tried, earning a quick nod from the cartoon.

There was a silence again before Jane cleared her throat. "Uh...Boris, I-I don't mean to sound upset or anything like that, but...why did you bring me here? I don't quite understand why you did this."

Boris tilted his head again before writing down something else. _**'You were in danger. You needed to be safe.'**_

"Safe?" she muttered as she glanced around the space. "Is this a safe house?"

He nodded slowly in response.

But was it as safe as Bendy's hideout? What was up with all the ink creatures either trying to kill, kidnap, or attempting to keep her safe? Well whatever the reason, this place didn't seem that bad.

"Wow, so how long have you been here?"

Boris shrugged in response. _**'Not sure. Lost track of time.'**_ Then he paused before writing something else. **_'How long have you been here?'_**

Biting her lower lip, she shrugged. "I mean, I assume a day or so. Just like you said, I lost track of time as well."

 _ **'You don't look like...me. No offense to you being...what you are. Human?'**_

"Yeah, I'm a human."

 ** _'Then how did you get here?'_**

She propped her elbow up on the table, resting her head against her hand. "Well...it's kind of a long story."

Boris placed both arms on the table and quickly wrote a quick note. _**'I'm in no rush.'**_

Jane bowed her head, pursing her lips. "Well...I'm not really sure what to say or...where to start..."

How exactly do you explain to a cartoon character about yourself? Of course Bendy was different, but Boris...she wasn't quite sure.

After a long pause of silence, Boris sat up straight and then took a blank piece of paper from the notebook, ripping it out. He placed it in front of her and then began drawing a random shape that puzzled Jane.

"What...what are you..." she began before the image became clear.

Was that a...Tic Tac Toe bracket?

Lifting his head, Boris tilted his head to the side before writing down a message. ** _'Wanna play? Break the ice a little?'_**

It took a moment for Jane to process this.

Boris was wanting to play a game with her? Well this was definitely unexpected. Well...a few games wouldn't be too terrible and maybe it would help her relax and share her story. What was the harm in that?

Glancing up at the dog cartoon character, a gentle smile appeared on her lips.

"Are you X's or O's?"

* * *

 **Again, I'm really sorry for the long wait! Things were just rough on my end and writer's block sucked. Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter out soon! This chapter was a little difficult and I'm sad Bendy isn't around, but hopefully I'll have more soon! Don't feel shy to leave a review or let me know your thoughts! You guys are the best! Seriously! I love hearing from you guys! Thank you again! You readers are what help inspire me to continue!**


End file.
